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Eastern spadefoot

Scaphiopus holbrookii · Frogs and toads · Amphibians

Eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii): Stout toadlike amphibian to about 7 cm; light to dark brown, olive or blackish above, mottled with dark brown, with a yellow lyre-shaped pair of lines down the back. Large protruding eyes with vertically elliptical pupils; no raised boss between the eyes. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Scaphiopus holbrookii
Family
Scaphiopodidae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern and southeastern United States from Massachusetts to Florida and west to the Mississippi River basin; absent from higher Appalachian elevations; not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Stout toadlike amphibian to about 7 cm; light to dark brown, olive or blackish above, mottled with dark brown, with a yellow lyre-shaped pair of lines down the back. [1][2][3]

Large protruding eyes with vertically elliptical pupils; no raised boss between the eyes. [1][2][3]

Single sickle-shaped black spade on the inner side of each hind foot; skin with small warts and small parotoid glands. [1][2][3]

Male call is a coarse nasal 'wank' or 'quonk' repeated every few seconds. [1][2][3]

Compared with the plains spadefoot: Has a raised boss between the eyes and a wedge-shaped spade at the base of each hind foot (Missouri Department of Conservation). [1][2][3]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a eastern spadefoot before you act. Compared with the plains spadefoot: Has a raised boss between the eyes and a wedge-shaped spade at the base of each hind foot (Missouri Department of Conservation).[1][2][3]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Sandy, gravelly or loose soils in wooded or open terrain, including sand prairies, pastures, farmland and suburbs; uses temporary rain-filled pools for breeding. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Nocturnal burrower that spends most of the time underground, becoming active on warm, damp or rainy nights. [1][2][3]

Breeds whenever heavy rains fill temporary pools and temperatures exceed about 45 F; breeding groups may number dozens to hundreds; larvae can metamorphose in as little as 2 weeks. [1][2][3]

Eats ants, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, crickets, termites and worms; skin secretions can irritate people, so wash hands after handling. [1][2][3]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Eastern and southeastern United States from Massachusetts to Florida and west to the Mississippi River basin; absent from higher Appalachian elevations; not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Missouri Department of Conservation · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Missouri Department of Conservation

  3. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology