Anaxyrus punctatus
Field ID: This small toad is grayish brown to olive with tiny red warts and round, red to dark orange parotoid glands. Head and body are somewhat flattened. Size: 1½–3 inches (3.8–7.6 cm).
Habitat: Rocky canyons, canyon bottoms, streams in grasslands.
Distribution: Southeastern Colorado mostly south of the Arkansas River; southwestern Colorado south of the Colorado River; up to about 7,000 feet.
Field Notes: This canyon-dwelling toad lives in rugged country in the southeastern and southwestern corners of the state. Red-spotted toads breed between mid-May and August. The male’s song is a high-pitched trill. It calls during the day from a hiding place in a rock crevice near its breeding pond. At night, it may call while sitting exposed on bare rock next to its pond. Because of the ephemeral nature of the toad’s temporary breeding ponds, many larvae die before metamorphosing because their habitat dries up. Eggs and larvae are sometimes killed when washed out of breeding pools by canyon flash floods.
Legal Status: Nongame.