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| From 2008_10_05 |
I caught in my front yard last night! I haven't been able to figure out which kind it is yet. I've been looking at a identification chart online, but they all look so similar to each other. So I've e-mailed a picture to a professor here at UNM and hopefully he gets back to me. I'm just keeping him in a bin with some water and some bloodworms (food left-over from our last African frog that died.) I'll probably let him go today, but it's so fun to have a frog. If I find out that he's not poisonous, I might keep him as a pet.
edited to add: letters from UNM professors
Thanks for sending the image. I think it is a spadefoot toad, but I'm not certain. The defining character for that is hard, dark colored "spur" on the bottom of each hind foot. Do you know if those spurs were present? The young of this species are common this time of year as they have recently metamorphosed from tadpoles that developed in temporary ponds of water left from the summer rains.
If it isn't a spadefoot toad it might be a Canyon Treefrog, but those aren't common in the NE Heights and the eyes don't look quite right for that species. There are a couple of other possibilities.
From the picture, the frog looks like the New MexicoBTW, I did let him go, we kept him for a day then let him out in our front yard where I found him.
spadefoot (Spea multiplicata). As Howard indicated in his
email, it should have a black, wedge-shaped "spur" on the
bottom of each foot. There is another very similar toad
that is common in our area: the Plains spadefoot (Spea
bombifrons). What sets it apart from the New Mexico
spadefoot is a bony "bump" on the top of the head, right
between the eyes. I do not see that clearly in the picture
and am therefore inclined to call the toad in the picture
a New Mexico spadefoot. Both species have been known to
hybridize where they occur together, so it is possible
that this one is a mix!
This is a good find because I have heard that these toads
are not as abundant in Albuquerque as they used to be,
especially near the Rio Grande.
8 comments:
Wow, that is cool! I would be scared though, so many frogs are poisionous. Did you touch it to catch it?
Yes I touched it to catch it. But I washed my hands afterward. But it was a little foolish since I don't know what kind it is to be sure it's safe.
Are there even poisonous frogs in the US? I thought those were only in the rain forests? Cool frog though!
Katie,
We are in ABQ right now. We will be here all week. We should get together.
(702) 465-0245
that is a freaking looking frog!! But neat to find such cool creatures.
You take such amazing pictures Katie!
what a cool looking frog!
http://mommasassy.blogspot.com/2008/06/telling-your-mom-and-family-about-your.html
This is the thing I was talking about today.... enjoy!
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