Anaxyrus Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Woodhouse's toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii) | |
American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Bufonidae |
Genus: | Anaxyrus Tschudi, 1845 |
Species | |
25, see text. |
Anaxyrus, containing the North American toads, is a genus of true toads in the family Bufonidae.[1] The genus is endemic to North and Central America, and contains many familiar North American toad species such as the American toad, Woodhouse's toad, and the western toad.
Most species in this genus were initially classified in Bufo, but were split due to their genetic divergence and geographic separation. Some authorities still consider Anaxyrus to be a subgenus within Bufo.[2][3] However, other authorities have disputed this classification, as doing so would also require all morphologically distinct Old World toad species to also be placed in Bufo.[1]