Anaxyrus boreas (Baird and Girard, 1852)
Rana canagica Pallas, 1814 "1831", Zoograph. Rosso-Asiat. Sist. Omn. Animal.: 12. Types: Not mentioned or known to exist. Type locality: "insulis Aleuticis inter Camtschatcam et Americam, et in hujus Continentis parte a Rossis occupato observait"; presumably Kanaga Island, Alaska, according to Kuzmin, 1996, Adv. Amph. Res. Former Soviet Union, 1: 51. Synonymy with Rana sylvatica by Lindholm, 1924, Copeia, 129: 46-47. This was disputed by Myers, 1930, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 43: 62, who placed it as a senior synonym of Bufo boreas Baird and Girard. Neither of these synonymies were followed by subsequent authors including Myers, following the assertion by Stejneger and Barbour, 1933, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 3: vi, that the name is a nomen dubium. More recently, Kuzmin, 1996, Adv. Amph. Res. Former Soviet Union, 1: 51, discussed the problem, allocated the name to the species known as Anaxyrus boreas, and treated Rana canagica Pallas as a nomen oblitum.
Bufo boreas Baird and Girard, 1852, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 6: 174. Syntypes: Not stated; USNM 15467-70, according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 32. Type locality: "Columbia River and Puget Sound", Washington, USA; restricted to "vicinity of Puget Sound", Washington, USA, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 61.
Bufo halophila Baird and Girard, 1853, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 6: 301. Syntypes: USNM 2589 (2 specimens) according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 34. Type locality: "Benicia", California, USA. Synonymy by Synonymy with Bufo boreas boreas by Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 514; Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 267; Camp, 1917, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 17: 116.
Bufo columbiensis Baird and Girard, 1853, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 6: 378. Syntypes: Not stated; including USNM 4182 (7 specimens) according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 32. Type locality: "Oregon . . . on the Columbia River", USA; restricted to "vicinity of the mouth of the Columbia River", USA, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 61. Synonymy by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 296. Synonymy with Bufo boreas by Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 514; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 296; Camp, 1917, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 17: 115.
Bufo lamentor Girard, 1859, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 11: 169. Syntypes: Not stated; USNM 4194 (4 specimens) according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 35. Type locality: "about Fort Bridger, Utah Territory [now Wyoming]", USA. Synonymy by Tanner, 1933, Copeia, 1933: 42.
Bufo politus Cope, 1862, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 14: 158. Holotype: USNM 5600 according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 36. Type locality: "near Greytown, Nicaragua"; in error, according to Savage, 1967, Copeia, 1967: 226, who suggested that the type came from "Pacific Coast region of the the western United States". Synonymy by Savage, 1967, Copeia, 1967: 225-226.
Bufo pictus Cope In Yarrow, 1875, in Wheeler (ed.), Rep. Geograph. Geol. Explor. Surv. W. 100th Merid., 5(4): 522. Holotype: USNM 8655 according to Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 164. Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 36, noted USNM 8655, 25332-34 as syntypes, apparently in error. Type locality: "neighborhood of Provo and Utah Lake"; given as "Utah" by Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 145; restricted to "Provo, Utah", USA, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 61. Synonymy by Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 514; Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 267; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 61.
Bufo halophilus — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 295.
Bufo lentiginosus pictus — Garman, 1884, Bull. Essex Inst., 16: 43. by implication.
Bufo columbiensis columbiensis — Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 269.
Bufo columbiensis halophilus — Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 269.
Bufo halophilus columbiensis — Stejneger, 1893, N. Am. Fauna, 7: 220.
Bufo boreas boreas — Stejneger, 1893, N. Am. Fauna, 7: 220.
Bufo boreas halophilus — Camp, 1917, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 17: 116.
Bufo nestor Camp, 1917, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 17: 115-125. Holotype: UCLA 22468, incomplete skull [fossil taxon]; now presumably in LACM. Type locality: Rancho La Brea, California, USA. Synonymy with Bufo boreas halophilus by Tihen, 1962, Am. Midl. Nat., 62: 157-183.
Bufo canagicus canagicus — Myers, 1930, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 43: 62.
Bufo canagicus halophilus — Myers, 1930, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 43: 62.
Bufo halophilus halophilus — Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 40. Unsubstantiated arrangement.
Anaxyrus boreas — Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 363.
Anaxyrus boreas boreas — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 3).
Anaxyrus boreas halophilus — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 3).
English Names
Columbia Toad (Bufo columbiensis [no longer recognized]: Cooper, 1860, Rep. Upon Explor Surv. Route Railroad Mississippi-Pacific Ocean, 12 (Book 2, Pt. 3, No. 4): 304; Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 23).
Painted Toad (Bufo pictus [no longer recognized]: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 23).
Western Toad (Bufo boreas: Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: 50; Stebbins, 1951, Amph. W. North Am.: 234; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 61; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 59; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10; Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 16; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 40; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 7; Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 208; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 3; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 7; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 6; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 12).
Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas: Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 60; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 40; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11).
Baird's Toad (Bufo boreas: Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: 50).
Mountain Toad (Bufo boreas: Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: 50).
Small-spaded Toad (Bufo boreas: Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: 50).
Northwestern Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: Storer, 1925, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 27: 43; Slevin, 1928, Occas. Pap. California Acad. Sci., 16: 90; Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: ix; Vincent, 1947, Nature Notes from Crater Lake, 13: 20).
Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 61; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 7; Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 209; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 3; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 6).
Columbian Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 61).
Baird's Toad (Bufo boreas halophilus: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 23).
Alkali Toad (Bufo boreas halophilus: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 62).
Marsh Toad (Bufo boreas halophilus: Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: 50).
California Toad (Bufo boreas halophilus: Dickerson, 1906, The Frog Book: 113; Grinnell and Storer, 1924, Animal Life in the Yosemite: 655; Storer, 1925, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 27: 43; Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: ix; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 60; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10; Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 16; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 40; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 7; Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 209; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 6).
Southern California Toad (Bufo boreas halophilus: Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 3; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 7).
Distribution
Western North America from southeastern Alaska, USA, through western Canada and western USA to (formerly) northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, southern Utah, southern Nevada, and northern Baja California (south to Bahia de los Angeles), Mexico; populatinos in south-central Wyoming and northern New Mexico now extinct as are those for most of central Utah.
Comment
In the Bufo boreas group of Blair, 1972, Evol. Genus Bufo: 350. See comments under Anaxyrus exsul and Anaxyrus nelsoni. See comments by Schuierer, 1963 "1962", Herpetologica, 18: 262-267. The two remaining nominal subspecies (Anaxyrus boreas boreas and Anaxyrus boreas halophilus) are still recognized, but these are physiologically strongly divergent and there may be cryptic species masquerading under this binominal (DRF). Bogert, 1960, in Lanyon and Tavolga (eds.), Anim. Sound Commun.: 179, suggested differences that suggest that Anaxyrus boreas halophilus and Anaxyrus boreas boreas are different species. Grismer, 2002, Amph. Rept. Baja California: 65-66, provided an account for the Mexican population. Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 208-209, provided a brief account, figure, and map (and who commented on the disappearance of this species from large areas of its former distribution in the Rockies and Wasatch Ranges). Goebel, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 210-221, noted that analysis of mtDNA does not provide an unambiguous map of species within the Anaxyrus boreas group (including Anaxyrus exsul and Anaxyrus nelsoni). See statement of geographic range, habitat, and conservation status (as Bufo boreas) in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 611. Goebel, Ranker, Corn, and Olmstead, 2009, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 50: 209-225, discussed mtDNA phylogeography and provided evidence that (1) nominal Anaxyrus boreas is a complex of species that do not conform to the current arrangement of subspecies, Anaxyrus boreas boreas and Anaxyrus boreas halophilus; (2) nominal Anaxyrus boreas is paraphyletic in terms of mtDNA haplotypes with respect to Anaxyrus canorus (that they found to be polyphyletic); (3) that one component of Anaxyrus boreas halophilus is most closely related to Anaxyrus nelsoni, and together is the sister taxon of Anaxyrus exsul and that another component (the name-bearing component) is more closely related to a component of Anaxyrus boreas boreas. See comments under Anaxyrus canorus. Wiedmer and Hodge, 1996, Herpetol. Rev., 27: 148, provided a northern and western record in Alaska and commented on the range.
External Links
Please note: these links will take you to external websites not affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History. We are not responsible for their content.
- For additional sources of information from other sites search Google
- For images search Arkive, CalPhoto Images and Google Images
- To search the NIH genetic sequence database, see GenBank
- For information aggregation from other sites and some original accounts see AmphibiaWeb report
- For further information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
- For related information on conservation and images as well as observation see iNaturalist;
- for a quick link to their maps see iNaturalist KML
- For access to informatoin on fossils see Lisanfos
