Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Bufo nebulifer
Gulf Coast Toad

Val Verde Co., Texas
May 22, 1997

These are the toads formerly known as Bufo valliceps, the Gulf Coast Toad.

On our first trip to Texas we managed to arrive the day after a heavy rainfall, and that night our road cruising was full of amphibious surprises, including large numbers of nebulifer.  The night was filled with their trilling in the temporary pools alongside the road.  Here in the dry Trans-Pecos, they tend to reside in the riparian corridors of the few rivers here.

The top of the head is interesting, there being a concave depression down the middle between the eyes, with an elaborate series of cranial crests on either side that wrap around the back of the eyes and extend back to the triangular paratoid glands.  In short, they carry more 'headgear' than other species of common U.S. toads.

They live in suitable habitats fron the southeastern half of Texas, southern Louisiana, and a bit of Mississippi.

 

 

 


photo courtesy of Ken Felsman

 

 

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