California Reptiles & Amphibians

Bufo canorus - Yosemite Toad

(=Anaxyrus canorus)

Click on a picture for a larger view

Historical Range in California: Red

Dot-locality range map

Listen to this toad:

One short call

More sounds of
Bufo canorus

Watch short videos of this toad here.

Adult Females, Alpine County

Adult Males, Alpine County

Adult male, Alpine County

Adult Male and Female, Fresno County
© Patrick Briggs

Adults in amplexus with the female depositing her eggs, Alpine County

Amplexing pair, Fresno County with a second male underneath the female. He tried to steal the female from the other male, but the other male kicked and produced the territorial call until the second male finally retreated.

Adults in amplexus, Fresno County
© Julie Nelson

Adult male, Mono County
© Douglas Aguillard

Eggs, Alpine County

Eggs, Fresno County
© Julie Nelson

Male, Fresno County, in calling postition.

Calling male, Fresno County.

Tadpoles, Fresno County
© Julie Nelson

Habitat, Alpine County

Toad in Habitat (in the center of the photo on the bank of a small creek, ) Alpine County

Breeding habitat, 8900 ft., Alpine County (site of amplexing adults and eggs shown above is in shallow water at lower left)

Habitat, 8900 ft, Alpine County

Habitat, Alpine County

Two views of breeding habitat at 9200 ft. elevation in Fresno County during the breeding period.

Short Videos

This is a 20 second video of a male toad calling in the afternoon from a snow-melt pool in a high-altitude wet meadow surrounded by snow at 9200 ft. elevation in Fresno County. The air temperature was 37 degrees, but the shallow water was over 60 degrees F. due to the sun. Pacific Treefrogs and water sounds are heard in the background.

Thanks go out to Stephanie Weber, aquatic biologist and toad Muse, for helping me to get this recording.

This is a short video of a male toad amplexing a female toad in Fresno County. A release call, probably made by the female, can be heard as the frogs hop together. A female typically produces this call after she has already laid her eggs and wants the male to release her.
© Julie Nelson

Description

Size

Adults are 1 3/4 - 2 3/4 inches from snout to vent ( 4.4 - 7 cm).

Appearance

Robust and stocky with dry, uniformly warty skin. No cranial crests. Large, flat oval paratoid glands. Eyes are closely set, pupils are horizontal. Dorsal stripe is very faint or absent. Sexes are colored differently. Males are pale yellowish green or olive above, with few or no dark blotches. Females and young are heavily blotched on a light background. Throat and belly is pale on both sexes. Moves by walking instead of hopping.

Voice (Listen)

A long, rapid musical trill, repeated at frequent intervals. Calls during the day, peaking at mid day, from shallow water. You can hear the call at AmphibiaWeb.

Behavior

Active in daytime, usually in sunny areas. Shelters in burrows and in clumps of vegetation near water.

Diet

Diet consists of a wide variety of invertebrates. Typical of most frogs, the prey is located by vision, then a large sticky tongue is used to catch the prey and bring it into the mouth to eat.

Reproduction

Mating and egg-laying takes place in shallow pools and the margins of lakes or in quiet streams from May to July after the snow melts. Fertilization is external.
Hybridizes with B. b. halophilus in the northern part of its range.

Range

Endemic to California. Ranges from Alpine county south to Fresno county at high elevations in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Habitat

Inhabits wet mountain meadows and the borders of forests. 4,800 - 12,000 ft. (1,460 - 3,630 m.)

Taxonomic Notes

This toad has been named Anaxyrus canorus, but this nomenclature is not yet standard.

Conservation Status

Disappeared from over 50% of its historic range, even in seemingly still-pristine habitats. Remaining populations may not be reproducing enough to survive. Disease, livestock grazing degrading habitat, ultraviolet radiation, introduced fishes, and windborne pesticide poisoning are some of the possible causes of the decline.

Taxonomy
Family	Bufonidae	True Toads
Genus	Bufo	True Toads
Species	canorus	Yosemite Toad
Original Description
Bufo canorus Camp, 1916 - Univ. California Publ. Zool., Vol. 17, No. 6, p. 59 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Bufo - toad canorus - Latin for tuneful - "melodious trill uttered by this toad" - referring to the male's breeding call from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Anaxyrus canorus
Related or Similar California Frogs
Bufo boreas boreas Bufo boreas halophilus Bufo woodhousii Bufo californicus Bufo exsul
More Information and References
NatureServe Explorer AmphibiaWeb California Department of Fish and Game Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Basey, Harold E. Discovering Sierra Reptiles and Amphibians. Yosemite Association and Sequoia Natural History Association, 1976, 1991. Davidson, Carlos. Booklet to the CD Frog and Toad Calls of the Pacific Coast - Vanishing Voices. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 1995.

Conservation Status
The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)
California Department of Fish and Game
Bureau of Land Management
USDA Forest Service
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List