Animal
Eastern American toad
Anaxyrus americanus
A common (2–4 inch) terrestrial toad native to most of eastern and central North America — bumpy warty skin, prominent parotoid glands behind the eyes (which secrete bufotoxin defense), and a long musical trill mating call (10–30 seconds, common in May–June). Common across Staten Island in residential gardens, woodland edges, parks. Eats large numbers of slugs, beetles, ants, and other garden invertebrates.
Scientific
Anaxyrus americanus (formerly Bufo americanus) is a 2–4 inch terrestrial toad with bumpy warty skin and prominent parotoid glands behind the eyes. The glands secrete bufotoxin, a defense compound — toads are unpalatable to most predators and dogs that bite them often experience oral irritation.
Diet: slugs, beetles, ants, earthworms, other invertebrates. A single American toad can eat 1,000+ insects per night during peak feeding. Considered one of the most-beneficial garden vertebrates by traditional gardening literature.
Breeding migrations to small ponds and pools in spring; males call from water with a long sustained musical trill that carries hundreds of meters. Egg masses are laid as long strings (vs. clumps for true frogs).
Notable for cold-tolerance — partial freeze tolerance similar to wood frogs (less extreme but real). Hibernates buried in soil below frost line.
On Staten Island
Common across the borough’s residential gardens, woodland edges, parks. Active April–October; underground hibernation in winter. Among the borough’s most-abundant terrestrial amphibians.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- [[beacon-ny|New York]] State DEC amphibian records
- USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative
Rooted in life.
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