Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I work at a small nature center just outside of Chicago where we have a small assortment of live animals. We have had an American toad for a while but last fall, someone brought in a toad they found near our building.

Although the only toad that is supposed to be found in northern IL is the American, this one looks a lot different. It is very dark (almost blue when we first got it), and does not have the typical toad gold eyes. In fact the eyes are so dark that they just look black. Only when I took these flash pictures could we see that the iris is there, but dark, not gold. The belly is not spotted at all.

Any ideas what it might be? Is it just a melanistic American or a pet that someone released?

Also we have been keeping them separate because of the size difference. Do you think they'd be ok together?

Thanks
LVNC toads

Out of all of the toad identifications we have to do on this forum, those are the best pictures to work off of that we have ever had! Compared to the American toads in southeastern Virginia, I would say that your resident American toad is very atypically colored, and your new one more closely resembles the ones that we have around here. I would venture to say that they are both American toads, and both of them have unusual colorations including the eyes that you mentioned (kind of freaky looking!). They will probably do just fine together as long as they have places to hide and at least a 10 to 20 gallon tank.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

i think the small one is a american toad

Brandon

There is a distinct possibility they are both American Toads, Bufo americanus. However, there is also a probabibility that it is a fowler's toad, Bufo woodhousii fowkeri, or a a close relative woodhouse's toad, Bufo woodhousii woodhousii. While yor pictures are very good, the distinguishing characteristic, the paratoid and postorbital ridge, is difficult to see. Since you say you picked it up in the Chicago area, we can eliminate the woodhouse's toad since it is not reported in the area. So what is the difference between the american and fowler? American toads differ from fowlers in that their chest is spotted with dark pigment, they have enlarged warts on the tibia, the paratoid gland is either seperated or connected to the postorbital ridge by a short spur, and the warts are less numerous. Based on what I can see in your photo, the little guy is a fowler's toad. One way to be sure is to check their calls. It is important to note that it has been well documented that fowler's toad can and does hybridize with other Bufo species, especially american. But I am pretty sure you have a fowler's toad. They can live together, and have similar habitat requirements. The size difference may cause some feeding competition problems, just watch each individuals intake.

Good luck and enjoy your little ones!

I took your dorsal photo and it looks like the postorbital may meet the definition of american. I'm leaning more towards a hybrid now.

Thanks for all of your quick replies. I have added a closeup of the smaller one that shows the cranial crests better. That and the dorsal spots sure look like an American, but then there's that clear belly! I guess it's looking like a hybrid.

Thanks again.
LVNC toads

I shouldn't have ever gotten into biology, I can't stand all of the exceptions to every rule, no constants, all variables. It scrabbles my scientific mind!

WHO KNOWS?

I shrug my shoulders everytime I try to ID a toad from here, there are too many hybrids. I wouldn't have a problem calling that an American.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)