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Anaxyrus americanus x fowleri
Hybrid toad. Wart distribution indicates A. americanus but coloration & paratoid gland are different. Final photo shows this next to a typical male A. americanus found close by.
Rural
7 Comments
Maybe Lisa can answer that one, but I have found American toads in the evening so my guess is that they are crepuscular rather than strictly nocturnal. I also imagine the urge to mate overrides normal behaviors!
Just wondering: In my experience, Fowler's toads are diurnal, and easy to find during the day. American toads are nocturnal, and I hear them much more than I see them. Do they change their habits during mating season, or is their temporal separation part of why hybrids are uncommon? Or am I wrong about when they are active?
Great to see a frog hybrid.
I was really lucky as my friend Lisa Power's is a herpetologist. Lisa was with me when we found this guy otherwise I would never known he was a hybrid!
KarenL: Thanks. I'll have to keep an eye out for these hybrids.
drpalombella, I understand these hybrids are usually infertile.
Cool! I didn't know they hybridized. Do you know if the hybrids are fertile?