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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Fowler's Toad

We got some delightful pictures of a little brownish gray toad we discovered in our own backyard. 

In this photo it is easy to spot the parotid gland, which secrets poison to protect it against predators, and the tympanum, or ear.

We identified him as:

Bufo fowleri (Bufo woodhousii fowleri)


Turns out he is a Fowler's Toad.

The rust colored spots and light stripe down its back helped to easily identify it. It occurred to me that a brief study about the difference between frogs and toads would be a nice quick and easy study for my third grader and I came across this venn diagram idea.

For more help in identifying if you see a frog or a toad and the differences between them click here.
We're always learning something in our nature notebook.

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