Canadian Toad

(Anaxyrus hemiophrys)

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Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked
S4 - Apparently Secure

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Canadian Toad is a large true toad. It occurs in Canada from Manitoba west to eastern Alberta, and in the United States from western Minnesota west to eastern North Dakota and South Dakota. It is found in or near water, in areas with relatively soft soil, in prairies, grasslands, and aspen parklands.

Adult females are 2¼″ to 3⅛″ (56 to 80 mm) in length. Males tend to be a little smaller, 2¼″ to 2⅝″ (56 to 68 mm) in length. The body is stocky.

The skin is bumpy. The overall color appears brown or olive to gray. On the upper side there are two or three rows of elongated dark patches on cream-colored skin. There is often a cream-colored stripe down the middle of the back. The patches are paired, but one may be a different size and shape than its opposite. Each patch has one to a few small warts. There are similar but smaller spots on the sides of the body and on the legs.

The belly is white or cream-colored with black and gray marks.

Behind each eye there is a narrow swelling. These are the paratoid glands, which secrete a toxin to discourage predators. There are 2 cranial ridges between the eyes, but these fuse together to form a single bump (boss) between the eyes.

Size

Female: 2¼″ to 3⅛″ (56 to 80 mm)

Male: 2¼″ to 2⅝″ (56 to 68 mm)

Voice

The call of the male is a high-pitched trill lasting 2 to 10 seconds.

Similar Species

Habitat

Ecology

Behavior

Lifespan

7 to 12 years in the wild

Life Cycle

Each year between May and July the female lays single gelatinous strings of 2,000 to 7,000 eggs in the shallow water of lakes, ponds, slow streams, marshes, and roadside ditches. In one year, she may lay up to 20,000 eggs. The eggs hatch in 3 to 12 days.

In late August or September, congregations of more than 100 adults burrow into the earth, creating large mounds (mima mounds) with individual chambers in which they spend the fall and winter.

Tadpole Food

Adult Food

Worms, spiders, beetles, ants, and other insects.

Mostly insects, especially beetles and ants, but also spiders.

Distribution

Sources

14, 24, 29, 30, 78.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 1/1/2026).

USGS National Amphibian Atlas. https://armi.usgs.gov/atlas/. Accessed 1/1/2026).

Occurrence

Taxonomy

Class

Amphibia (Amphibians)

Order

Anura (Frogs)

Family

Bufonidae (True Toads)

Genus

Anaxyrus (North American Toads)

Species

This species was formerly classified Bufo hemiophrys. In 2006 all North American true toads (family Bufonidae) were transferred out of the genus Bufo by Frost et al., and several new genera were created.