Fact File
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus terrestris
Classification: Amphibian
Size: Up to 3.5 inches
Distribution: This is the most common toad in the southern United States, occurring in Virginia only in the southeastern Piedmont and Coastal Plain. It is abundant in areas with sandy soils.
Identifying Characteristics
This medium-sized toad is generally brown, which can vary from red or gray to black. The cranial crests, located between the eye and paratoid glands, are prominent and are raised at the rear into club-like knobs (see page 9). There may be a light mid- dorsal stripe.
Did You Know?
The activity area of this species may encompass an area a mile wide.
Role in the Web of Life
This species breeds from March-September with females depositing up to 4,000 eggs in virtually any shallow freshwater habitat, including tire ruts and roadside ditches. During the coldest months, Southern Toads will dig into the ground a foot (30 cm.) or more to hibernate. Their advertisement call is a musical trill (5 to 10 seconds) that sounds similar to the Eastern American Toad, but is not as melodic and is higher in pitch. Where their ranges overlap with Eastern American Toads, hybridization may occur.
Conservation
Species appears to be secure in Virginia.
Last updated: March 23, 2021