Anaxyrus woodhousii (Girard, 1854)

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

Bufo dorsalis Hallowell, 1852, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 6: 181. Types: Not stated; USNM 2531 considered holotype by Stejneger, 1890, N. Am. Fauna, 3: 117. Type locality: "New Mexico . . . . collected . . . expedition . . . rivers Zuni and Great and Little Colorado of the West". Given as "San Francisco Mountain, New Mexico (i.e. Arizona)", USA, by Stejneger, 1890, N. Am. Fauna, 3: 116 (who discussed the confusion surrounding this name). Synonymy (with Bufo americanus) by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 309; this considered tentative by Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, 46: 125. Preoccupied by Bufo dorsalis Spix, 1824. Considered a synonym of Bufo woodhousii by Baird, 1859, Rep. Upon Explor Surv. Route Railroad Mississippi–Pacific Ocean, 10 (Part 6, No. 4): 44; Ruthven, 1907, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 23: 507

Bufo woodhousii Girard, 1854, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 7: 86. Holotype: USNM 2531 (same type as Bufo dorsalis Hallowell) according to Kellogg, 1932, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 160: 73, and Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 37. Type locality: "[Territory of] New Mexico, having so far been found in the province of Sonora, and in the San Francisco Mts."; data for specimen given as "San Francisco Mountain, New Mexico [now in Coconino County, Arizona]" by Stejneger, 1890, N. Am. Fauna, 3: 116.

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

Bufo frontosus Cope, 1867 "1866", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 18: 301. Holotype: Presumably originally ANSP or USNM, although Kellogg, 1932, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 160: 73, suggested that it had never been sent to the USNM; now lost, according to Shannon and Lowe, 1955, Herpetologica, 11: 188. Type locality: "Territory of Arizona, . . . , chiefly near the parallel of 35°, and along the valley of the Colorado from Fort Mojave to Fort Yuma"; unjustifiably restricted to Old Fort Mojave, Mojave County, Arizona, USA, by Smith and Taylor, 1950, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 33: 353; unjustifiably corrected to "Tucson, Pima County, Arizona", USA, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 66; unjustifiably corrected to "Winslow, Navajo County, Arizona", USA, by XXX. Synonymy by Yarrow, 1875, in Wheeler (ed.), Rep. Geograph. Geol. Explor. Surv. W. 100th Merid., 5(4): 520; (with Bufo lentiginosus woodhousei) by Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 516; and Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 66. Note that some authors regard this name as synonymous with Bufo cognatus (e.g., Ellis and Henderson, 1913, Univ. Colorado Stud., 10: 1-129; Krupa, 1990, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 457: 1).

Bufo lentiginosus frontosus — Cope, 1875, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 1: 29.

Bufo lentiginosus var. frontosus — Yarrow, 1875, in Wheeler (ed.), Rep. Geograph. Geol. Explor. Surv. W. 100th Merid., 5(4): 520; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 310.

Bufo lentiginosus var. woodhousei — Yarrow, 1875, in Wheeler (ed.), Rep. Geograph. Geol. Explor. Surv. W. 100th Merid., 5(4): 521.

Bufo aduncus Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 457. Holotype: USNM 14100, by original designation. Type locality: "probably from Gainsboro, [Cook County,] in Central Northern Texas", USA. Synonymy by Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 31.

Bufo lentiginosus woodhousei — Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 278.

Bufo lentiginosus woodhousii — Stejneger, 1890, N. Am. Fauna, 3: 116.

Bufo lentiginosus woodhousi — Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, 46: 126.

Bufo woodhousii woodhousii — Smith, 1934, Am. Midl. Nat., 15: 456.

Bufo compactilis woodhousii — Linsdale, 1940, Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., 73: 206.

Bufo woodhousii velatus Bragg and Sanders, 1951, Wasmann J. Biol., 9: 366. Holotype: USNM 131869 (formerly O. Sanders 1891), by original designation and Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 38. Type locality: "Elkhart, Anderson County, Texas", USA. Status uncertain, may belong in the synonymy of Bufo fowleri according to Sullivan, Malmos, and Given, 1996, Copeia, 1996: 274–280. See synonymy of Bufo fowleri.

Bufo woodhousei woodhousei — Shannon and Lowe, 1955, Herpetologica, 11: 185. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Bufo woodhousei australis Shannon and Lowe, 1955, Herpetologica, 11: 185. Holotype: UIMNH (formerly FAS 6817), by original designation. Type locality: "in a damp irrigation ditch within the city limits of Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona", USA.

Bufo woodhousei bexarensis Mecham, 1959 "1958", Southwest. Nat., 3: 19. Holotype: TNHC 933.3708a, a left femur. Type locality: "Friesenhahn Cave is located on Cibolo Creek, 21 miles north of San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas . . . . Late Pleistocene, zone 3", USA. Fossil taxon.

Bufo velatus — Sanders, 1986, Occas. Pap. Strecker Mus., 1: 1–28; Sanders, 1987, Evol. Hybrid. Spec. N. Am. Indigenous Bufonids: 52. Species status rejected by Collins, 1989, Kansas Herpetol. Soc. Newsl., 78: 19.

Bufo antecessor Sanders, 1987, Evol. Hybrid. Spec. N. Am. Indigenous Bufonids: 62. Holotype: USNM 25322, by original designation. Type locality: "nine miles northwest of Louiston (= Lewiston) Nez Perce County, Idaho", USA. Synonymy by Collins, 1989, Kansas Herpetol. Soc. Newsl., 78: 19.

Bufo planiorum Sanders, 1987, Evol. Hybrid. Spec. N. Am. Indigenous Bufonids: 87. Holotype: USNM 2535, by original designation. Type locality: "Yellowstone River of Montana", USA. Synonymy by Collins, 1989, Kansas Herpetol. Soc. Newsl., 78: 19.

Bufo woodhousii velatus — Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11.

Anaxyrus woodhousii — 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 woodhousii australis — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 3.

Anaxyrus woodhousii woodhousii — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 3.

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

Bufo (Anaxyrus) woodhousii — Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 311. See comment under Bufonidae regarding how this arrangement is part of a a system that requires widespread paraphyly. 

Bufo (Anaxyrus) woodhousii woodhousii — Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 311. See comment under Bufonidae regarding how this arrangement is part of a a system that requires widespread paraphyly. 

Bufo (Anaxyrus) woodhousii australis — Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 313. See comment under Bufonidae regarding how this arrangement is part of a a system that requires widespread paraphyly. 

Common Names

Toad (Bufo lentiginosus frontosus [no longer recognized]: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 23).

Rocky Mountain Toad (Bufo woodhousii: Dickerson, 1906, The Frog Book: 91; Storer, 1925, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 27: 43; Slevin, 1928, Occas. Pap. California Acad. Sci., 16: 102); Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: x).

Woodhouse's Toad (Bufo woodhousii: Cooper, 1873, Proc. California Acad. Sci., 4: 66; Strecker, 1915, Baylor Univ. Bull., 18: 53; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 67; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 61; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 309; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 11; Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 18; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 44; 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: 8; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 4; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 8; 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: 13; Frost, Lemmon, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 9).

Woodhouse Toad (Bufo woodhousii: Stebbins, 1951, Amph. W. North Am.: 286).

Southwestern Woodhouse's Toad (Bufo woodhousii australis: Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 61; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 310; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 11; Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 18; 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: 8; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 4; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 8; 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: 13; Frost, Lemmon, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 9).

East Texas Toad (Bufo woodhousii velatus [no longer recognized]: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 67; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 11; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 44; 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: 8; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 6).

Rocky Mountain Toad (Bufo woodhousii woodhousii: Smith, 1934, Am. Midl. Nat., 15: 449; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 61; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 8; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 4; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 13; Frost, Lemmon, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 9).

Woodhouse's Toad (Bufo woodhousii woodhousii: Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 6).

Distribution

Western USA (excluding Great Basin and Pacific Coast), and northern Mexico (Colorado river vicinity of Baja California del Norte and northwestern Sonora, and northeastern Sonora to northeastern Coahuila south to eastern Durango).

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Mexico, United States of America, United States of America - Arizona, United States of America - Arkansas, United States of America - California, United States of America - Colorado, United States of America - Idaho, United States of America - Iowa, United States of America - Kansas, United States of America - Louisiana, United States of America - Mississippi, United States of America - Missouri, United States of America - Montana, United States of America - Nebraska, United States of America - Nevada, United States of America - New Mexico, United States of America - North Dakota, United States of America - Oklahoma, United States of America - Oregon, United States of America - South Dakota, United States of America - Texas, United States of America - Utah, United States of America - Washington, United States of America - Wyoming

Comment

In the Bufo americanus group according to Blair, 1959, Texas J. Sci., 11: 427. See comment under Anayxrus fowleri. The misspelling of the specific epithet to woodhousei has been used widely. Blair, 1947, Am. Mus. Novit., 1343: 4, noted a hybridization zone with Anayxrus fowleri (as Bufo). Three nominal subspecies frequently recognized although these warrant detailed study regarding their evolutionary status (DRF). Cocroft and Ryan, 1995, Animal Behav., 49: 283–303, discussed advertisement call in an evolutionary context. Sullivan, Malmos, and Given, 1996, Copeia, 1996: 274–280, noted that Bufo woodhousii velatus sits within the hybrid zone of Bufo fowleri and Bufo woodhousii and at this time should not be recognized. Masta, Sullivan, Lamb, and Routman, 2002, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 24: 302–314, noted that within Anaxyrus woodhousii two distinct mtDNA clades exist which are largely concordant with the subspecies Anaxyrus woodhousii woodhousii and Anaxyrus woodhousii australis. Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 211–212, provided a brief account, figure, and map. Fontenot, Makowsky, and Chippindale, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 59: 66–80, discussed hybridization with eastern members of the Anaxyrus americanus group and; without discussion, recognized Anaxyrus velatus as a distinct species. Lemos-Espinal, 2007, Anf. Rept. Chihuahua Mexico: 42–43, provided an account (as Bufo woodhousii) for Chihuahua, Mexico. Lemos-Espinal and Smith, 2007, Anf. Rept. Coahuila México: 43, provided an account (as Bufo woodhousii) for Coahuila, Mexico. Oliver-López, Woolrich-Piña, and Lemos-Espinal, 2009, Fam. Bufonidae Mex.: 51–54, provided an account for Mexico although the range provided for the USA is substantially incorrect. Sullivan, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 438–440, and Dodd, 2013, Frogs U.S. and Canada, 1: 166–176, provided accounts that summarized relevant literature and discussed the substantial hybridization with Anaxyrus fowleri along the eastern edge of its range. Elliot, Gerhardt, and Davidson, 2009, Frogs and Toads of N. Am.: 114–137, provided an account, photos, and advertisement call. Rorabaugh and Lemos-Espinal, 2016, Field Guide Amph. Rept. Sonora: 132–133, provided a detailed account of natural history, morphology, and conservation status in Sonora, Mexico. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 185–186, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. Sullivan, Wooten, Schwaner, Sullivan, and Takahashi, 2015, J. Herpetol., 49: 150–156, reported on hybridization of this species and Anaxyrus microscaphus along the Agua Fria River of central Arizona, USA, on the basis of morphology and mtDNA. Lemos-Espinal, Smith, and Valdes-Lares, 2019, Amph. Rept. Durango: 51–52, provided a brief account for Durango, Mexico. Wooten, Klooster, Brown, Bradford, Schwaner, and Sullivan, 2018, J. Arizona–Nevada Acad. Sci., 47: 45–52, characterized microsatellite markers with reference to a hybrid zone with Anaxyrus microscaphus in southern Yavapai County, Arizona. Wooten, Sullivan, Klooster, Schwaner, Sullivan, Brown, Takahashi, and Bradford, 2019, J. Herpetol., 53: 104–114, reported on 30 years of hybridization with Anaxyrus microscaphus on the Agua Fria river in Arizona, USA. Painter, Stuart, Giermakowski, and Pierce, 2017, Western Wildlife, 4: 35, commented on the status and county range in New Mexico, USA. Bassett, 2023, Reptiles & Amphibians, 30(e18486): 1–18, provided an updated county distribution map for Texas, USA.       

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