How to identify it
Vertical (catlike) pupil in bright light and a single hard, wedge-shaped black 'spade' on each hind foot. [1][2][3]
Hard raised boss (bony lump) between the eyes, set slightly forward of a line across the middle of both eyes. [1][2][3]
Brown or gray, sometimes greenish, with dark splotches and small warts; often an hourglass-like marking formed by four light lines, which can be faint or absent in small animals; some have red or orange spots. [1][2][3]
Snout-vent length to about 6 cm (2.5 in); spadefoots are not true toads (Bufonidae). [1][2][3]
Breeding males have dark pads on the inner 2-3 fingers; call is a brief, loud, harsh snore audible up to about 3 km. [1][2][3]
Compared with the mexican spadefoot (spea multiplicata): Lacks the hard boss between the eyes, has red-tipped tubercles, and reportedly smells of peanuts when handled; its call is a longer, stuttering snore. [1][2][3]
Compared with the great basin spadefoot (spea intermontana): Separated mainly by range: Great Basin spadefoot lies between the Cascade-Sierra axis and the Rockies, plains spadefoot on the Great Plains. [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.
- Mexican spadefoot · Spea multiplicata
- Great Basin spadefoot · Spea intermontana
Where it lives
Shrublands, grasslands and semi-desert with loose soil for burrowing, plus nearby ephemeral pools such as cattle ponds, vernal pools, playas and flooded fields for breeding. [1][2][3]
How it behaves
Nocturnal: stays in a burrow by day (to about 1 m deep) and emerges on humid nights to forage; burrows deeper in drought, summer heat and winter. [1][2][3]
Explosive breeder: 2.5-10.4 cm of rain brings adults to temporary pools, mainly May-August, with choruses lasting about 2 days. [1][2][3]
Adults eat small invertebrates; tadpoles may develop a carnivorous morph that eats other tadpoles and fairy shrimp. [1][2][3]
Migrates up to several hundred metres between breeding pools and non-breeding ground. [1][2][3]
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
- Colorado — amphibian take · 2 CCR 406-7 Chapter W-7 Herpetofauna (03/04/2026; eff. 2026-05-01)
- 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
South-central Canada (southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, north to near Outlook, SK) south to north-central Mexico, west to western Montana, eastern Colorado and eastern Arizona and east to western Iowa, eastern Missouri and central Arkansas, with disjunct populations in southern Texas and Arkansas.
Sources
Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.
NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30
NatureServe
- BIOLOGICALAnimal Diversity Web: plains spadefoot
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
Fort Hays State University Sternberg Museum · reviewed 2026-09-30
Fort Hays State University Sternberg Museum