Houston toad

Houston toad
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Anaxyrus
Species:
A. houstonensis
Binomial name
Anaxyrus houstonensis
(Sanders, 1953)
Synonyms

Bufo houstonensis Sanders, 1953

The Houston toad (Anaxyrus houstonensis),[4] formerly Bufo houstonensis, is an endangered species of amphibian that is endemic to Texas in the United States.[5][6] This toad was discovered in the late 1940s and named in 1953. It was among the first amphibians added to the United States List of Endangered Native Fish and Wildlife[3] and is currently protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as an endangered species.[2] The Houston toad was placed as "endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species from 1986 to 2022, and has worsened to "critically endangered" since then, with fewer than 250 mature individuals believed to remain in the wild as of 2021.[1] Their kind is threatened every day as they continue to suffer from a loss of habitat, extreme drought, and massive wildfires.[7] Their typical life expectancy is at least 3 years but it may exceed this number.[8]

  1. ^ a b IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Anaxyrus houstonensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T3170A118972321. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Houston toad (Bufo houstonensis)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b 35 FR 16047
  4. ^ "Anaxyrus houstonensis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  5. ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Anaxyrus houstonensis (Sanders, 1953)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  6. ^ Jackson, Jacob T.; Floyd W. Weckerly; Todd M. Swannack (2006). "Inferring absence of Houston toads given imperfect detection probabilities". Journal of Wildlife Management. 70 (5): 1461–1463. doi:10.2193/0022-541x(2006)70[1461:iaohtg]2.0.co;2. JSTOR 4128067. S2CID 17118782.
  7. ^ "Houston Toad Recovery Benefits from New Techniques and Strong Partnerships". Reverse the Red. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  8. ^ "Houston Toad (Bufo houstonensis) | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service". FWS.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-22.