How to identify it
Gray, olive or brown back mottled with darker spots that have light centres, with gray streaks outlining an hourglass-shaped mark; underside light gray to cream and unmarked. [1][2]
Large, catlike golden-yellow eyes with vertical pupils; a dark brown or orange spot on each upper eyelid; nose slightly upturned with a raised callus between the eyes. [1][2]
Black keratinized spade on the underside of each hind foot; body short and fat with stubby limbs, 32-67 mm long. [1][2]
Skin is relatively smooth with small bumps and no parotoid glands, unlike true toads (Bufo). [1][2]
Male call: monotonous duck-like snoring of 1-3 notes, carrying over long distances. [1][2]
Compared with the plains spadefoot (spea bombifrons): Separated mainly by range; plains spadefoot has a hard boss between the eyes, a four-line hourglass marking and a brief snore call. [1][2]
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.
- Plains spadefoot · Spea bombifrons
Where it lives
Arid regions: sagebrush flats, semi-desert shrubland, alkali flats and pinyon-juniper, up to ponderosa pine and spruce-fir near 2,800 m, wherever soils are loose enough to burrow. [1][2]
How it behaves
Mostly nocturnal but also active early morning and late afternoon; more active after rain and in humid periods. [1][2]
Survives dry country by burrowing with its hind-foot spades or using rodent burrows; daytime burrows are shallow, typically 35-45 cm deep, deeper when drier. [1][2]
Explosive breeder, May-August, at still or slow water; adults migrate 1-5 km at night; pools must hold water about 40 days for tadpoles to transform. [1][2]
Generalist insectivore; ants and darkling beetles are the commonest prey. [1][2]
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
- California — amphibian take · 2026 California Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations (updated July 10, 2026), 14 CCR 5.05/5.60
- Nevada — amphibian take · CR 24-15 2025 & 2026 Seasons & Limits for Noncommercial Collection of Live, Unprotected Reptiles & Amphibians
- Utah — amphibian take · Reptile and amphibian species classification tables (R657-53), updated Apr. 22, 2026
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.
Where it is found
Southern British Columbia south through central and eastern Washington and Oregon, southern Idaho, eastern California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and northwestern Colorado to northwestern Arizona, from the Cascade-Sierra axis east to the Rockies.
Sources
Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.
NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30
NatureServe
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology