Fowler's toads have black and yellow eyes
The photo of this fowler's toad is courtesy of my dog, Landon. While Jill and I were hiking at Indian and Celina Lakes in southern Indiana, this little frog caught the eye of our dog. Once the frog stopped hopping, and my dog stopped sniffing it, I was able to lean in for a photo. It wasn't until after I got home and downloaded the photos from my camera, that I realized how stunning the eyes of this toad are. The blacks and yellows weren't immediately noticeable, but when zoomed in, I was able to see the intricacy of this toad's eyeball.
Toads are known to have stereopsis, which is the ability to perceive depth through vision, aka binocular vision. Toads have been shown to use their binocular vision to identify and orient their eyes on their prey. When a toad identifies its prey, it will always look at its prey before attacking. This is different from frogs which will occasionally attack their prey while the prey is in their peripheral vision.
Fowler's toads can be identified by the green, grey, brown, and red colors on its body. It is typically covered with dark warty spots. It is easy to identify if you are looking at an adult; they have a pale stripe down the center of its back. This photo isn't this best angle to see the stripe, but you can see it begins between the eyes of this toad.
The Fowler's toad isn't particularly large, and maxes out at around 3.5 inches long. When Fowler's toads reproduce, nearly 10,000 eggs are fertilized. The eggs will hatch in less than a week and the resulting tadpoles are about half an inch long.
This toad lives in woodlands, meadows, prairies, and beaches. During hot or cold extremes, it will burrow underground. The diet of the Folwer's toad consists mostly of insects, but will not eat earthworms.
This toad species lays 10,000 eggs at once!
Did You Know?
- The scientific name for the Fowler's Toad is Anaxyrus fowleri; although it was formally called Bufo fowleri
- This species was named after the naturalist Samuel Page Fowler of Massachusetts. Samuel Page Fowler founded the Ezzex County Natural History Society, which is now known as the Essex Institute.
- Although this toad is considered of Least Concern by the IUCN, it is at risk in Ontario, as well as considered of special concern in New Jersey. In New Hampshire and Vermont it is considered a threatened or endangered species.
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