Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Amphibia
Subclassis: Lissamphibia
Ordo: Anura
Familia: Scaphiopodidae
Genus: Spea
Species: Spea bombifrons
Name
Spea bombifrons (Cope, 1863)
Type locality: "Fort Union, on Missouri River, lat. 48° N"; "On Platte River, 200 miles west of Fort Kearney"; "Llano Estacado Texas".
Holotype: USNM 3704 (Fort Union), 3520 (Platte River) & 3703 (Llano Estacado).
Synonyms
Scaphiopus bombifrons Cope, 1863
Spea bombifrons — Cope, 1866
Scaphiopus bombifrons — Boulenger, 1882
Scaphiopus hammondii bombifrons — Cope, 1889
Scaphiopus (Spea) bombifrons — Tanner, 1939
Spea bombifrons — Firschein, 1950
References
Cope, 1863, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 15: 53.
Firschein, 1950, Herpetologica, 6: 75–77.
Frost, D.R. 2021. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.1. Electronic Database accessible at https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. DOI: 10.5531/db.vz.0001 Spea bombifrons . Accessed on 13 July 2008.
2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species IUCN: Spea bombifrons (Least Concern) Downloaded on 13 July 2008.
Vernacular names
English: Plains Spadefoot ToadThe plains spadefoot toad (Spea bombifrons) is a species of American spadefoot toad which ranges from southwestern Canada, throughout the Great Plains of the western United States, and into northern Mexico. Like other species of spadefoot toads, they get their name from a spade-like projections on their hind legs which allow them to dig into sandy soils. Their name, in part, comes from their keratinized metatarsals, which are wide instead of "sickle shaped". The species name translates as buzzing leaf shaped.[1] This refers to the species distinguishing features; its buzzing mating call, and its leaf-shaped digging metatarsals. First described by Cope in 1863.[2]
Description
The plains spadefoot toad generally grows from 1.5 to 2.5 inches (38 to 64 mm) in length, has a round body, with relatively short legs. These toads are usually a tannish to dark brownish color with visible orange spots. They are one of the easiest toads to recognize in their region because of their appearance looking more like a frog. Sometimes, they have light striping on their backs.
Evolutionary/Phylogenic relationships
The origins of Lissamphibia are not finalized. This has a lot to do with the fact that early stem amphibians were a lot more like amniotes in terms of biology. Much of amphibian biology appears to be derived evolution. The earliest known fossil of a burrowing frog is likely Prospea holoserisca.[3]
The most basal extant frog species are in the Archeabatrachia suborder. The most primitive frog is arguably Leiopelma.
Salienta fossils are the earliest examples of anurans that show a split from Order Caudata. Examples include Triadobatrachus and Czatkobatrachus.
Because amphibians might actually be highly derived, this could explain why their fossil record is poor. Multilocus sequence typing has proposed a Late Carboniferous/Early Permian origin around 270 mya.[4]
Geographical distribution and conservation status
This species is found throughout the Midwest from Alberta to Mexico wherever there is suitable soil for a fossorial lifestyle. The species is listed by IUCN 2015 as "least concern" and appears to be expanding its range, at least northwards into Alberta, Canada.
Ecology, Behaviour and Physiology
Spea bombifrons are famous for thriving in xeric environments, but a related species, Scaphiopus holbrookii has similar adaptation but does not live in similar extreme environments. The adults of this species is primarily fossorial for most of the year, but terrestrial during warm, wet periods. It only enters the water for breeding when nocturnal temperatures are at their yearly maximums and within 2–3 days of rain.[5] The tadpoles hatch from eggs after 2 days and metamorphose within 2 weeks. Froglets hide in cracks and shade and live off stored tissue in their tails until they can start feeding as adults.
Frogs can only live where the ground is suitable for burrowing, and reproduce within 1 km of where they aestivate.[5] Like all frogs, they are immobilized by low temperatures. This species prefers to burrow near large objects such as logs or rocks. They near a water source, but this can be a subterranean patch of wet sand.
They have many predators, especially the hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus). Garter snakes predate most tadpoles, but often are not found in the desert, preferring riparian habitats. Many birds are opportunistic predators including burrowing owls and most wading birds. The tadpoles are also predated on by cannibal morphs, dragonfly larvae, giant scavenger beetles, and mosquito fish. Occasionally the will be eaten by Swainson's hawk and burrowing rodents.[6]
There have been a few parasites reported in at least 1 study: Polystoma nearcticum, Aplectana incerta, Aplectana itzocanensis, and Physaloptera spp.[7]
Behavior
Plains spadefoot toads are nocturnal and secretive. They spend most of the dryer seasons buried in the soil in estivation, typically only emerging during spring and fall rains. Breeding takes place in temporary pools of water left by rainfall, which requires the tadpoles to metamorphose quickly, before the water dries up. Eggs, laid in clutches numbering from 10 to 250, often hatch within 48 hours of being laid, and the larvae can change into tadpoles in as little as two weeks. The tadpoles exhibit phenotypic plasticity, with some changing from an omnivorous morphology into a cannibalistic carnivorous morph with oversized jaw muscles and pronged beaks. In some cases, female spadefoot toads will choose to mate with Spea multiplicata rather than with males of their own species, if the resulting hybrid tadpole would have higher chances of survival.[8] Character displacement has also been examined in ponds where Spea bombifrons and Spea multiplicata occur together. Reproductive and ecological competition between the two species likely causes selection for smaller and less reproductively successful individuals of Spea multiplicata. [9]
The adults travel by short hops and are generally poor swimmers. They swim in short bursts and only during periods of reproduction. this species is presumed to be non territorial and solitary except during breeding season. Satellite males have been shown to attempt to intercept females arriving at a breeding pond and are successful in about 20% of cases. Dominant, or first arriving males signal vocally from the deepest part of the ephemeral pool. Amplexus is a necessary stimulus to release eggs. Once the eggs are fertilized, there is little apparent parental care. The adults are strictly live insectivores. The tadpoles are detritivores, either scavengers or herbivores depending on morph
Tadpole "nests" can bee seen in most xeric amphibians, and are well described in the fossil record, such as at the St. George Dinosaur Discovery site. The shallow depressions are a form of "vortex feeding" used to stir up debris for feeding. It is also theorized that the depressions formed could allow a lengthened hydroperiod to increase growth size.
Sensory modalities
Both tadpoles and adults have many senses. Studies support a theory that olfactory sense is important to tadpoles of this species.[10] Adult breeding frogs detect breeding ponds by using auditory cues from other frog calls to gauge distance, size of pool, likelihood of predators and numbers as well as breeding condition of other frogs. Sources say frogs use low frequency sound of rain as a cue to emerge from aestivation.[11] While olfactory cues are considered a secondary emergence stimulus, there is evidence in other anurans that the smell of emergent plant growth can also guide frogs to breeding sites, specifically pond weed species. Persistent emergent behaviour has been observed personally when a piece of moss was placed in an enclosure of two captive Spea bombifrons.[citation needed]
Anuran tadpoles almost always have evidence of neuromasts arranged in lateral lines, although these only exist in adults of fully aquatic species, of which there are surprisingly few. There is poor research on how tadpoles use this sensory input during development.
Frog hearing is pretty unique in that the lungs act as amplifiers for the hearing.[12] Their columella-operculum complex has been theorized as a method they can use to detect earthquakes.
Frogs have a unique form of green rods in their retinas which is theorized to help them see at very low light levels.[13]
Physiology
Frogs in general, but fossorial frogs specifically are able to absorb water through a "seat patch" instead of drinking. The skin is selectively permeable via aquaporins, allowing them to absorb water from damp ground, standing water, and mossy substrates.
According to David Pfenning's lab at the University of North Carolina, Desert spadefoots appear able to not only adapt their bodies to a carnivorous diet (Shorter gut, protein-digesting genes are activated) but also are more likely to have progeny that are adapted to meat. This is a major study that shows that Lamarckian characteristics are not as disproven as once thought.
Both Spea species found in North America have been used for many years in the North Carolina lab of Karin Pfennig as model organisms to study hybridization and its effects on competition and evolution.[14] The results appear to be mixed, but there is evidence of resource competition being linked to species divergence.
References
"Frogs and Toads - River Science". www.kansasriverscience.org. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
"Cope, 1863, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 15 | Amphibian Species of the World". research.amnh.org. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
Chen, C; Bever, S; Yi, Y; Norell., A (2016). "Chen, J., G.S. Bever, H. Yi, and M. A. Norell, 2016. A burrowing frog from the late Paleocene of Mongolia uncovers a deep history of spadefoot toads (Pelobatoidea) in East Asia. Scientific Reports. 6, 19209. [X23961] (matrix)". doi:10.7934/x23961.
San Mauro, Diego; Vences, Miguel; Alcobendas, Marina; Zardoya, Rafael; Meyer, Axel (2005-05-01). "Initial Diversification of Living Amphibians Predated the Breakup of Pangaea". The American Naturalist. 165 (5): 590–599. doi:10.1086/429523. ISSN 0003-0147. PMID 15795855. S2CID 17021360.
Bragg, Arthur (1965). Gnomes of the Night: The spadefoot toads. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 50. ISBN 9781512800678.
Lannoo, Michael (2005). Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520235922.
Goldberg, Stephen (2002). "Helminths of the plains spadefoot, Spea bombifrons, the western spadefoot, Spea harmondi, and the Great Basin spadefoot, Spea intermontana (Pelobatidae)". Western North American Naturalist. 62 (4): 13.
Pfennig, Karin S. (2007-11-09). "Facultative Mate Choice Drives Adaptive Hybridization". Science. 318 (5852): 965–967. Bibcode:2007Sci...318..965P. doi:10.1126/science.1146035. PMID 17991861. S2CID 31080177.
Pfennig, Karin S; David W Pfennig (October 2005). "Character displacement as the "best of a bad situation": fitness trade-offs resulting from selection to minimize resource and mate competition". Evolution. 59 (10): 2200–2208. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2005.tb00928.x. ISSN 0014-3820. PMID 16405163.
Mitchell, M (2018). "Olfactory cues of habitats facilitate learning about landscapes of fear". Behavioral Ecology. 29 (3): 693–700. doi:10.1093/beheco/ary024.
Dimmitt, M (1980). "Environmental correlates of emergence in spadefoot toads (Scaphiopus)". Journal of Herpetology. 14 (1): 21–29. doi:10.2307/1563871. JSTOR 1563871.
Schoffelen, R (2008). "Mechanics of the exceptional anuran ear". Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 194 (5): 417–428. doi:10.1007/s00359-008-0327-1. PMC 2323032. PMID 18386018.
Yovanovich, CAM (2017). "The dual rod system of amphibians supports colour discrimination at the absolute visual threshold". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 372 (1717): 20160066. doi:10.1098/rstb.2016.0066. PMC 5312016. PMID 28193811.
Garcia, N (April 2015). "Leptin Manipulation Reduces Appetite and Causes a Switch in Mating Preference in the Plains Spadefoot Toad (Spea bombifrons)". PLOS ONE. Ecollection 2015 (4): e0125981. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1025981G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125981. PMC 4412710. PMID 25919309. S2CID 17163233.
Herps of Texas: Spea bombifrons
Canada's Amphibians: Spea bombifrons
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