Southern Toad
Latin Name: Anaxyrus terrestris
Species: Amphibian
Conservation Status: S4-5 - Secure
Southern toads have warty skin and are often brown, sometimes with shades of red or black. Their most prominent features are cranial crests and large knobs between their eyes. Parotoid glands on its head produce secretions that can cause irritation if touched or be poisonous if ingested. Adults typically reach 2.5 inches in length.
Range & Habitat (map)
Southern toads are found throughout the southeast, reaching from eastern Louisiana into parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and throughout Florida. These toads are terrestrial and often found in habitats with sandy soil suited for burrowing.
Diet
These toads forage at dusk looking for anything they can eat, primarily insects and snails. Tadpoles eat algae found on aquatic vegetation.
Life History
Southern toads breed most often in the spring, which is when you will hear their high-pitched trill most frequently. After breeding in water, females lay 2,500-4,000 eggs as gelatinous strings in the water. In a few days, these eggs hatch into tadpoles, which will undergo metamorphosis in approximately 6 weeks. Southern toads can live at least 10 years.
Significance
Animals like frogs and toads are important indicators of the health of their environment because of their permeable skin. Their skin absorbs oxygen and water, also making them vulnerable to toxins in the environment. If an area becomes polluted, frogs and toads are often some of the first animals to be impacted.
Threats & How You Can Help
Southern toads seem to do well in suburban and agricultural environments and therefore have been able to coexist in areas with human development. In most parts of their range, southern toads face few population pressures, although the introduction of cane toads in Florida may have caused predation and competition for resources that is impacting those populations.