American Toad
American Toad
Anaxyrus americanus
Amphibia
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Up to 10 yrs
Size
Medium
Diet
Insectivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
North America
Movement
Hopping
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

A widespread, warty toad of eastern North America, recognizable by the one or two large warts per dark spot on its back. A single American Toad can eat up to 1,000 insects in a single night.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
  2. 2.
    tadpole
    A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
  3. 3.
    juvenile
    A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
  4. 4.
    adult
    Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Amphibia
Order
Anura
Family
Bufonidae
Genus
Anaxyrus
Species
Anaxyrus americanus