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| Adult, Coconino County, Arizona |
Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
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| Adult, Coconino County, Arizona |
Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
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| Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
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Adult male in breeding pond,
Hidalgo County, New Mexico |
Calling adult male in breeding pond, Hidalgo County, New Mexico |
Group of adult males at night calling while floating in a rain pool, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
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| Tadpoles and recently-metamorphosed terrestrial juveniles |
The following spadefoot tadpoles and metamorphs were photographed at several locations in Cochise County, Arizona, where Spea multiplicata and Spea bombifrons both occur. These spadefoots could be either species. I cannot positively identify them at such a young age and small size, other than saying that most likely they are not Scaphiopus couchii, so I will just say that these pictures probably include individuals of both species of Spea.
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| Habitat |
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Breeding habitat, pool in flooded wash,
Hidalgo County, New Mexico |
The same breeding pool location as seen to the left in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, 2 months later. |
Habitat, Hidalgo County, New Mexico |
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| Breeding pool, Cochise County, Arizona, shown on two consecutive days - evaporation happens quickly in the desert when there is no rain. |
Shallow breeding pool in August (full of tadpoles) Cochise County, Arizona. (Same location as shown to the left, 5 years earlier.) |
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Breeding habitat,
Cochise County, Arizona
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Breeding habitat,
Hidalgo County, New Mexico |
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| Short Videos |
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| A spadefoot calls at night while floating on top of a flooded pool in a wash in Hidalgo County, New Mexico. When another male comes close he makes a different snoring sound and swims around. Other spadefoots and Western Green Toads are heard in the background. |
A tiny recently-metamorphosed spadefoot (either Spea bombifrons or Spea multiplicata) which has not yet absorbed its tail hops around next to its dessicating breeding pool with a predator attached to its tail (probably a water scavenger beetle larva.) Cochise County, Arizona. |
Spadefoot tadpoles swim around in a small aquarium. Cochise County, Arizona.
These are tentatively identified as Spea bombifrons, but there is a chance they could also be Spea multiplicata (stagnalis.) |
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Spadefoot tadpoles (either Spea bombifrons or Spea multiplicata) in a rain pool in Cochise County, Arizona metamorphose into tiny tailed spadefoots and move onto land as the pool quickly drys up. (Shown over a period of about one week.)
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