Scaphiopodidae is a toad A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin, brown coloration, and wart-like parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads, though common in popular culture, is not made in taxonomy, where toads are spread across families Bufonidae, Bombinatoridae, Discoglossidae, Pelobatidae, family What does and does not belong to each family is determined by a taxonomist. Similarly for the question if a particular family should be recognized at all. Often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing or recognizing a family of American spadefoot toads. They are native to southern Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three and USA ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language south to southern Mexico In Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory, which was administered as the viceroyalty of New Spain which would eventually become Mexico. Scaphiopodidae is a small family, comprising of only seven species.
The American spadefoot toads are of typical shape to most fossorial (or burrowing) frogs. They are round, with short legs and protruding eyes. As suggested by their name, this frog has hard, keratinous protrusion present on their feet, which helps them to dig. Like most fossorial frogs, they will dig backwards into the ground.[1]
The American spadefoot toads are terrestrial when not under ground. They are dully coloured, usually a grey or dull green or brown. This is to aid in camouflage in their arid habitats.
Taxonomy
This family was previously included in the European spadefoot toad The European spadefoot toads are a family of frogs, the Pelobatidae, with only one genus Pelobates, containing four species. They are native to Europe, the Mediterranean, northwestern Africa and western Asia family What does and does not belong to each family is determined by a taxonomist. Similarly for the question if a particular family should be recognized at all. Often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing or recognizing a family, but has been split into two taxa. Pelobatidae The European spadefoot toads are a family of frogs, the Pelobatidae, with only one extant genus Pelobates, containing four species. They are native to Europe, the Mediterranean, northwestern Africa and western Asia includes the Pelobates genus, and Scaphiopodidae the rest.[2]
- Southern Spadefoot Toads, Scaphiopus Scaphiopus is a genus of North American amphibian commonly referred to as the southern spadefoot toads. They differ greatly from true toads by having eyes with vertical pupils, no parotoid gland, and relatively smooth skin. Their most distinctive feature is a spade-like projection on their hind feet, which their common name is derived from. This (Holbrook, 1836)
- Western Spadefoot Toads, Spea Spea is a genus of North American amphibian commonly referred to as the western spadefoot toad. They differ greatly from true toads by having eyes with vertical pupils, no parotoid gland, and relatively smooth skin. Their most distinctive feature is a spade-like projection on their hind feet, which their common name is derived from. This (Cope Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist, 1866)
Spadefoot toads are generally found in arid climates, where they spend the majority of their lives underground, generally beneath perennial ponds, creek beds, or other moisture-retaining areas. During years of sufficient rainfall, the toads surface to breed and lay eggs.
References
- ^ "Scaphiopodidae (Cope, 1865) American Spadefoot Toads". http://www.livingunderworld.org/anura/database/scaphiopodidae/. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
- ^ "Amphibian Species of the World - Pelobatidae Bonaparte, 1850". http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/references.php?id=14952. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
External links
- Media related to Scaphiopodidae at Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons is an online repository of free-use images, sound and other media files. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation, from which uploaded files can be used across all Wikimedia projects in all languages, including Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikisource and Wikinews, or downloaded for offsite use. The repository contains over six
- Scaphiopodidae at Tree of Life
- American spadefoot toads at the Encyclopedia of Life The Encyclopedia of Life is a free, online collaborative encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.8 million living species known to science. It is compiled from existing databases and from contributions by experts and non-experts throughout the world. It aims to build one "infinitely expandable" page for each species, including
Categories: Frogs by classification
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Scaphiopus couchii Couch s Spadefoot
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ue, 25 Nov 2008 02:10:52 GM
Grosses Bassin Spadefoot Erhaltungsstatus Wenig Interesse (IUCN 3.1) Wissenschaftliche Klassifikation Koenigreich: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Kategorie: Amphibien Auftrag: Anura Familie: . Scaphiopodidae. Klasse: Spea Sorte: S. intermontana ...

