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Red-spotted toad

Anaxyrus punctatus · Frogs and toads · Amphibians

Red-spotted toad (Anaxyrus punctatus): Small toad, typically 38-64 mm snout-vent (maximum about 76 mm), females larger than males. Dry skin, round snout and a round enlarged gland behind each eye; no bony crests between or behind 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
Anaxyrus punctatus
Family
Bufonidae
In North America
Native
Range
California, Nevada, central Utah, Colorado and southwestern Kansas south to southern Baja California and Querétaro, Mexico, at elevations up to about 1,980 m. Not reported from Canada in the sources read.
Biology

How to identify it

Small toad, typically 38-64 mm snout-vent (maximum about 76 mm), females larger than males. [1][2]

Dry skin, round snout and a round enlarged gland behind each eye; no bony crests between or behind the eyes. [1][2]

Head, limbs and body uniform brown or grey with small warts that may or may not be tipped red. [1][2]

Belly yellowish with small blackish spots; males have a dark throat. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Rocky canyons, gullies and gypsum or limestone outcrops in deserts, dry prairies, grasslands and dry woodlands. [1][2]

Eggs laid singly on plants in shallow rain pools, spring-fed pools and pools along intermittent streams. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Nocturnal; hides under moist rocks or underground by day and is active after heavy rain, including mornings and late afternoon. [1][2]

Opportunistic breeder: gathers in small numbers at canyon pools and intermittent streams after spring or summer rain; males chorus in the evening. [1][2]

Eats beetles, ants, bees and other small arthropods; generally inactive November-March in the north. [1][2]

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

California, Nevada, central Utah, Colorado and southwestern Kansas south to southern Baja California and Querétaro, Mexico, at elevations up to about 1,980 m. Not reported from Canada in the sources read.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas, Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas, Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University