Anaxyrus americanus (Holbrook, 1836)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Bufonidae > Genus: Anaxyrus > Species: Anaxyrus americanus

Bufo americanus Cuvier, 1831, Animal Kingdom (M'Murtrie), 2: 83. Nomen nudum. See discussion by Adler, 1976, Holbrook’s N. Am. Herpetol.: xxxvi.

Bufo americanus Holbrook, 1836, N. Am. Herpetol., 1: 75. Holotype: Questionably ANSP 2474 according to Adler, 1976, Holbrook’s N. Am. Herpetol.: xxxvi. Type locality: ". . . mountains of Maine through all the Atlantic states . . . common in the upper districts of [South Carolina] . . . along the western side of the Alleghenies, and in the Valley of the Mississippi"; restricted to "vicinity of Philadelphia", USA, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 65.

Bufo americanus var. quadripunctatus Jan, 1857, Cenni Mus. Civ. Milano: 54. Type(s): Presumably MSNM. Type locality: "Georgia", USA. Nomen nudum.

Bufo lentiginosus var. americanus — Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: 63; Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 190; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 309; Garman, 1884, Bull. Essex Inst., 16: 42; by implication.

Chilophryne americana — Cope, 1862, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 14: 358.

Incilius americanus — Cope, 1863, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 15: 50.

Bufo copei Yarrow and Henshaw, 1878, Annu. Rep. Chief of Engineers for 1878. Appendix L. Rep. Rept. Batr. 1875–1877 California Arizona Nevada: 207. Syntypes: "a large number of specimens . . . in the Smithsonian"; USNM 5376 according to Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 163. USNM 5388 (17 specimens), 35925–71 (formerly 5937) listed by Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 32. Type locality: "Hudson's Bay; James Bay", Ontario, Canada. Synonymy (with Bufo lentiginosus americanus) by Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 516; by Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 284; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, 46: 126, and Collins, 1989, Kansas Herpetol. Soc. Newsl., 78: 19.

Bufo copeii — Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 163. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Bufo lentiginosus americanus — Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 516. 

Bufo americanus — Dickerson, 1906, The Frog Book: 63.

Bufo americanus copei — Gaige, 1932, Copeia, 1932: 134.

Bufo americanus americanus — Gaige, 1932, Copeia, 1932: 134; Stejneger and Barbour, 1933, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 3: 27; Wright and Wright, 1949, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada, Ed. 3: 143; Sanders, 1953, Herpetologica, 9: 25; Smith, 1961, Illinois Nat. Hist. Surv. Bull., 28: 74.

Bufo terrestris americanus — Netting and Goin, 1946, Copeia, 1946: 107.

Bufo terrestris copei — Netting and Goin, 1946, Copeia, 1946: 107.

Bufo terrestris charlesmithi Bragg, 1954, Wasmann J. Biol., 12: 247. Holotype: OKMNH 26359 (formerly A.N. Bragg 32), by original designation. Type locality: "1.8 miles south, 7 miles east of Norman, Cleveland County, Oklahoma", USA.

Bufo americanus — Blair, 1957, Texas J. Sci., 9: 106.

Bufo americanus charlesmithi — Smith, 1961, Illinois Nat. Hist. Surv. Bull., 28: 74.

Bufo americanus var. alani Long, 1982, Univ. Wisconsin Mus. Nat. Hist., Rep. Fauna Flora Wisconsin, 18: 16-19. Type(s): Not stated, although presumably in the Wisconsin Mus. Nat. Hist. Type locality: "Rock Island, [Lake Michigan,] Wisconsin", USA.

Bufo copei — Sanders, 1987, Evol. Hybrid. Spec. N. Am. Indigenous Bufonids: 11. Species status rejected by Collins, 1989, Kansas Herpetol. Soc. Newsl., 78: 19.

Anaxyrus americanus — Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 363.

Anaxyrus americanus americanus — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 2).

Anaxyrus americanus charlesmithi — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 2).

Anaxyrus charlesmithi — Fontenot, Makowsky, and Chippindale, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 59: 68. Undiscussed taxonomic arrangement.

Bufo (Anaxyrus) americanus americanus — Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 292. See comment under Bufonidae regarding how this arrangement is part of a a system that requires widespread paraphyly. 

Bufo (Anaxyrus) americanus charlesmithi — Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 294. See comment under Bufonidae regarding how this arrangement is part of a a system that requires widespread paraphyly. 

Common Names

Common Toad (Storer, 1839, Rep. Ichthyol. Herpetol. Massachusetts: 244; Storer, 1840, Boston J. Nat. Hist., 3: 52; Verrill, 1863, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 9: 197; Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 27; Brimley, 1907, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 23: 157).

Common American Toad (De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1(3): 67).

Hop Toad (Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: 48).

American Toad (Bufo americanus: Yarrow, 1876, List Skeletons and Crania: 39; Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 190; Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 23; Dickerson, 1906, The Frog Book: 63; Strecker, 1915, Baylor Univ. Bull., 18: 53; Smith, 1934, Am. Midl. Nat., 15: 436; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 66; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 306; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 40; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 6; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 2; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 12; Bufo americanus americanus: Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: ix; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 66; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 6; Frost, Lemmon, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 7).

Northern Toad (Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 396).

Eastern American Toad (Bufo americanus americanus: Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 40; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11; Bufo americanus americanus: Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 6; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 2; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 6; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 12; Frost, Lemmon, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 7).

Cope's Toad (Bufo americanus copei: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 23).

Hudson Bay Toad (Bufo americanus copei: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 66; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 307; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10).

Hudson Bay American Toad (Bufo americanus copei: Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: ix).

Dwarf American Toad (Bufo americanus charlesmithi: ; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 307; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 40; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 6; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 2; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 6; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 12; Frost, Lemmon, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 7).

Distribution

Canada from central Manitoba to southern Hudson Bay and east to southern Newfoundland (including populations on the western part of the Island), south through eastern North Dakota along the eastern edge of the Great Plains to northeastern Texas, and the vicinity of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, north and east (excluding the Gulf Coastal Plain) to Virginia and north.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Canada, United States of America, United States of America - Alabama, United States of America - Arkansas, United States of America - Connecticut, United States of America - Delaware, United States of America - District of Columbia, United States of America - Georgia, United States of America - Illinois, United States of America - Indiana, United States of America - Iowa, United States of America - Kansas, United States of America - Kentucky, United States of America - Louisiana, United States of America - Maine, United States of America - Maryland, United States of America - Massachusetts, United States of America - Michigan, United States of America - Minnesota, United States of America - Mississippi, United States of America - Missouri, United States of America - Nebraska, United States of America - New Hampshire, United States of America - New Jersey, United States of America - New York, United States of America - North Carolina, United States of America - North Dakota, United States of America - Ohio, United States of America - Oklahoma, United States of America - Pennsylvania, United States of America - Rhode Island, United States of America - South Carolina, United States of America - South Dakota, United States of America - Tennessee, United States of America - Texas, United States of America - Vermont, United States of America - Virginia, United States of America - West Virginia, United States of America - Wisconsin

Comment

In the Bufo americanus group according to Blair, 1959, Texas J. Sci., 11: 427. See Cook, 1983, Publ. Nat. Sci. Natl. Mus. Canada, 3: 1-89, for discussion of taxonomic relationships. The status of the nominal subspecies is far from clear, especially against the background of introgressive hybridization, which appears to be common along species boundaries. See comments under Anaxyrus fowleri, Anaxyrus woodhousii, Anaxyrus hemiophrys, Anaxyrus baxteri, and Anaxyrus terrestris. Cocroft and Ryan, 1995, Animal Behav., 49: 283–303, discussed advertisement call in an evolutionary context. Masta, Sullivan, Lamb, and Routman, 2002, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 24: 302–314, found that Bufo americanus charlesmithi was congruent with a distinctive mtDNA clade in their analysis, suggesting that it might be an independent lineage (although introgression was not ruled out). Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 284, focusing on the boostrap values of Masta et al. (2002) suggested that there is only weak evidence for subspecies status. Fontenot, Makowsky, and Chippindale, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 59: 66–80, discussed hybridization with eastern members of the Anaxyrus americanus group and treated Anaxyrus charlesmithi as a distinct species without discussion. Dodd, 2013, Frogs U.S. and Canada, 1: 17–42, provided an account that summarized relevant literature, noting hybridization with other members of the Anaxyrus americanus group. Green, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 386–390, provided a compact but detailed account of relevant literature. Elliot, Gerhardt, and Davidson, 2009, Frogs and Toads of N. Am.: 128–131, provided an account, photos, and advertisement call. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 173–175, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. Holt, 2018, Herpetol. Rev., 49: 281, provided a marginal record in Limestone County, Alabama, USA. Guyer and Bailey, 2023, Frogs and Toads of Alabama: 73–78, provided a detailed account (including larval morphology) for Alabama, USA. MacLaren, Hibbitts, Forstner, and McCracken, 2024, PeerJ, 12(e17635): 1–21, discussed morphology, morphometrics, and vocalization of Anaxyrus houstonensis in comparison with Anaxyrus americanus charlesmithi.  

External links:

Please note: these links will take you to external websites not affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History. We are not responsible for their content.