The Sonoran Desert toad (Incilius alvarius), also known as the Colorado River toad. It is famous for releasing toxins with psychedelic qualities from glands under its skin. These magnificent toads can reach lengths of just over 7 inches. They often have white underbellies and olive green skin, though it can also be brownish. They have smooth, leathery skin that has some lumps or warts on it. Usually, they will have one or two white warts in the corners of their mouth.
This toad uses a poison that it secretes from skin glands as its primary defense. Although handling the frog and ingesting the poison can make you very ill, this toxin normally won’t kill an adult human. The species’ conservation status is “least concern.” However, the toad is listed as “endangered” in California and “threatened” in New Mexico.
Habitat
Southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico are where you can find the Colorado River toad. It is thought to have disappeared from California. Throughout its range, it can be found in both semi-arid and desert environments. Semi-aquatic in nature, it can frequently be discovered in streams. It is nocturnal and frequently lives in rodent burrows.
Appearance
The Sonoran Desert toad is another name for the Colorado River toad. The largest native toad in the United States is 3 to 7 inches long. It ranges in hue from dark brown to olive green. It has wart-covered smooth, lustrous skin. It has a cream-colored belly, huge raised warts on its back legs, and one to two warts on the corners of its lips. It calls with a low hoot.
Food
The Colorado River toad consumes a diverse range of creatures, including mice, tiny lizards, snails, beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, insects, and toads.
Life Cycle
Colorado River toads congregate in breeding pools and streams just prior to the arrival of spring rains in the desert. May through July is when people mate. The female lays black egg strands. An egg strand can contain up to 8,000 eggs. Tadpoles hatch in two to twelve days. The Colorado River toad spends the winter in its burrow once the breeding season is over.
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