Southern Toad
Bufo terrestris
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Appearance:  Southern Toads range in size from 1 5/8 - 3 in. (4.1 - 7.5 cm).  The coloration of Southern Toads can vary from brown to charcoal to red to black.  This species can be found with or without dark spots.  If dark spots are present, each spot will have one or more warts. There may be a light middorsal stripe visible. The belly is light and usually variably pigmented with black spots or flecks. Distinguishing characteristics of the Southern Toad are the high cranial crests and pronounced knobs behind the eyes that give the head a sculptured appearance.  The paratoid glands are much smaller than those of Bufo marinus.  Males have a dark throat and a large, rounded vocal sac. 

Habitat: Southern Toads are habitat generalists that can found in a range of environments from xeric to hydric.  They can be found along lake and pond shores, sandy areas, wooded hammocks, highland scrub, and all habitats in between.  Southern Toads forage at night and hide during the day in homemade burrows. They are a common yard and garden toad and can be found around porch and street lights at night. Southern Toads feed on small invertebrates and basically anything small enough for them to swallow.

Vocalization:  The Southern Toad call is a penetrating, high pitched, rapidly pulsed trill.  The duration of the call is about 2.8 seconds.  The trill rate is about 75 per second. Large choruses can be deafening. Chorus:

Reproduction/Eggs: Breeding season occurs from March to October depending on locality and weather conditions.  Southern Toads lay dual strings of eggs at the edges of all types of ponds, lakes, ditches, and canals. Eggs may number more than 4,000.

Abundance: Southern Toads are probably the most frequently seen toad in Florida--they can be found in every county.  Southern Toads have become uncommon in areas of Dade County probably as a result of the proliferation of the predacious, exotic Giant Toad. 

Range: Southern Toads range from the Coastal Plain and extreme southeast Virginia to the Mississippi River; south throughout Florida and on some of the lower Keys.  There is an isolated colony in extreme western South Carolina.

SE ARMI Index Sites: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Everglades National Park.