''Gastrophryne olivacea'', the Great Plains narrow-mouthed toad or western narrow-mouthed toad, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of microhylid

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

found throughout much of the south-central United States from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

south through

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and into northern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. Though not a true

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

, it is often referred to as such because it is terrestrial.

Description

Gastrophryne olivacea, Western Narrow-mouthed Toad, Tamaulipas

Great Plains narrow-mouthed toads are a small (1.5 in), flat-bodied species, with a sharply pointed snout. They are typically olive green to grey-brown in color, sometimes with black blotching. Their undersides are lighter colored. Their skin secretions can cause severe, burning pain if they get into eyes.

Behavior and habitat

This toad is found in a wide range of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s, but most frequently on moist ground or in leaf litter, and under rocks or fallen logs. They breed throughout the spring and summer in pools of water left by rainfall. Their primary diet is ants.

Taxonomy

''Gastrophryne olivacea'' was once considered a subspecies of the eastern narrowmouth toad, '' G. carolinensis''. There are no valid subspecies of this taxon at this time. This taxon was originally divided into two subspecies but in 2012 the western subspecies was elevated to full species status ("Gastrophryne mazatlanensis" = the Sinaloan Narrow-mouthed Toad).Streicher, J. W., C. L. Cox, J. A. Campbell, E. N. Smith, and R. O. de Sá. 2012. Rapid range expansion in the Great Plains narrow-mouthed toad (Gastrophryne olivacea) and a revised taxonomy for North American microhylids. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 64: 645–653.

References

External links

*
Gastrophryne olivacea
' in Amphibiaweb.org
Amphibian Species of the World: ''Gastrophryne olivacea''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2720420 Gastrophryne Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Amphibians of the United States Amphibians described in 1856