Tadpoles (Anaxyrus sp.)

The campus is rather quiet over the summer, and the Frost Garden's fountain is also taking a break. During this hiatus, our recent high volume of rain has created an interesting artificial circumstance.

 

The fountain and its surroundings in the garden are clean and tidy.

Upon closer inspection, we can see an unexpected hidden pool. The rainwater is tinted slightly yellow due to leaves and algae, which appear green due to the fountain's interior blue paint. Wait a minute, what's that?

Something's swimming in there. A lot of somethings!

There are literally hundreds of Anaxyrus tadpoles here. A few were observed (not shown in this photo) that already had spindly legs developed. The arboretum curator also rescued several adult toads responsible for this invasion. They could hop in to spawn, but got stuck and couldn't get out.

Here we have a few of the larger specimens. Removing any tadpoles from the fountain is a mercy, because while it provides an excellent nursery, they will have to leave to survive. There's no way for the baby toads to get out!

 

The arboretum features a few locations where water tends to pool even when conditions are dry. The headwaters of the upper pond's stream are one such place, as a few gallons of shaded water are often present.

This location is directly below Randle's, by the cypress trees, and it offers a reasonable spot for a few buckets of tadpoles.

The water is cloudy after being disturbed by our bucket of amphibians. Thankfully the animals weren't shocked by the change in water quality. They were still alive an hour later, and even on the following day! We can't be sure if these are American Toad, Southern Toad, or Fowler's Toad, as all three are native to Louisiana. Given the reported ranges, it's most likely Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri).

External links

Brad Glorioso's page on the American Toad 

Brad Glorioso's page on Fowler's Toad

2018 US Department of Defense Fact Sheet on Fowler's Toad 

Brad Glorioso's page on the Southern Toad 

Toad's World

What secrets do these sprinkler boxes hold?

Amphibians! To the novice, these may appear to be "frogs" or even "toad-frogs." In fact, they are true toads of the family Bufonidae. This is either eastern toad (Anaxyrus americanus), southern toad (Anaxyrus terrestris), or Fowler's toad (Anaxyrus fowleri), three closely related species occuring in our region. We'll call this a medium-sized specimen.

Now for the itty bitty, insy winsy variety: this little fellow looks like he was born yesterday. But give him some credit; he is probably the sole survivor of a clutch of thousands of eggs. Given these odds, we should award these little fellers some credit. Like the medium-sized specimen above, we can't tell if this is an American, Southern, or Fowler's toad.

Seen in profile, this small toad has good posture.

A comparison is a nice way to round out this post. Clearly we have enough bugs and creepy crawlies to go around.

These toads come in red, black, brown, tan, "Mossy Oak," and all the shades in-between. Examination of the links below has led us to believe that this is a Fowler's toad (Anaxyrus fowleri). Identification mostly depends on the presence and form of ridges between the eye socket and neck glands, as well as the relative size of leg warts. In this case, the specimen lacks a prominent post-orbital ridge and has more-or-less uniformly sized warts. Let's also take a moment to mention that toads are not only gorgeous creatures, they are seasonally appropriate.

Do you remember the line "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble" from Macbeth? You may have forgotten that in the long list of ingredients, TOADS were the first reagent to be added:

Round about the cauldron go;

In the poisoned entrails throw.

Toad, that under cold stone 

Days and nights has thirty-one 

Sweltered venom sleeping got, 

Boil thou first i’ th’ charmèd pot.

Fillet of a fenny snake

In the cauldron boil and bake.

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder’s fork and blindworm’s sting,

Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,

Witch’s mummy, maw and gulf

Of the ravined salt-sea shark,

Root of hemlock digged i’ th’ dark,

Liver of blaspheming Jew,

Gall of goat and slips of yew

Slivered in the moon’s eclipse,

Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips, 

Finger of birth-strangled babe

Ditch-delivered by a drab,

Make the gruel thick and slab.

Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron

For th’ ingredience of our cauldron.

External links from Gonefroggin':
Fowler's Toad
Southern Toad

Photos of Fowler's toad from UC Berkley

Photos of Southern toad from UC Berkley

A helpful youtube video on toad identification