Home/Species/ Gulf Coast Toad

Incilius nebulifer

(Girard, 1854)

Gulf Coast Toad

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105649

Element CodeAAABB01240

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassAmphibia

OrderAnura

FamilyBufonidae

GenusIncilius

Synonyms

Bufo nebuliferGirard, 1854

Other Common Names

coastal plain toad (EN)

Concept Reference

Mulcahy, D. G., and J. R. Mendelson, III. 2000. Phylogeography and speciation of the morphologically variable, widespread species Bufo valliceps, based on molecular evidence from mtDNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 17:173-189.

Taxonomic Comments

Formerly included in B. valliceps. Mulcahy and Mendelson (2000) examined mtDNA variation (and considered morphological variation) and concluded that Bufo valliceps comprises two species, Bufo nebulifer and B. valliceps, under the Evolutionary Species Concept.

This taxon of predominantly Central American toads was removed from a paraphyletic "Bufo" by Frost et al. (2006). However, the oldest name for this taxon is Incilius Cope, 1863 (see Frost et al. 2009) which therefore takes precedence. Mendelson et al. (2011) provided evidence for the monophyly of this genus (Crother 2017).

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2016-08-30

Change Date2001-01-16

Edition Date2016-08-30

Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.

Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)

Rank Reasons

Fairly large range in southcentral United States and northeastern Mexico; abundant in suitable habitat; tolerant of habitat alteration; no major threats.

Range Extent Comments

This species is known from southern Arkansas, southern Mississippi, Louisiana, and central Texas in the United States, southward to Palma Sola, Veracruz, Mexico (Mulcahy and Mendelson 2000).

Occurrences Comments

Represented by many and/or large occurrences throughout most of the range.

Threat Impact Comments

This species is tolerant of substantial habitat alteration.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species inhabits coastal prairies, barrier beaches, towns, and a variety of other habitats. Eggs and larvae develop in various kinds of pools, including roadside and irrigation ditches.

Reproduction

Lays eggs in spring or summer. In Texas, duration of calling activity was 7-29 nights (mean 15.4), and choruses included 2-65 males (Copeia 1992:647-658).

Terrestrial Habitats

Woodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralGrassland/herbaceousSand/duneSuburban/orchard

Palustrine Habitats

TEMPORARY POOL

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Arkansas	S1	Yes
Texas	S5	Yes
Mississippi	S4	Yes
Louisiana	S5	Yes

Roadless Areas (3)

Idaho (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Creek	Caribou-Targhee National Forest	118,582

Texas (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Creek	National Forests in Texas	1,447
Little Lake Creek	National Forests in Texas	596

References (16)

Bartlett, R. D., and P. P. Bartlett. 1999a. A field guide to Texas reptiles & amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. xviii + 331 pp.
Bartlett, R. D., and P. P. Bartlett. 1999b. A field guide to Florida reptiles and amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. xvi + 278 pp.
Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
Blackburn, L., P. Nanjappa, and M. J. Lannoo. 2001. An Atlas of the Distribution of U.S. Amphibians. Copyright, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA.
Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xvii + 429 pp.
Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
Dixon, J. R. 2000. Amphibians and reptiles of Texas. Second edition. Texas A & M University Press, College Station. 421 pp.
Dundee, H. A., and D. A. Rossman. 1989. The amphibians and reptiles of Louisiana. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge.
Frost, D. R. 2010. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.4 (8 April 2010). Electronic Database accessible at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
Frost, D.R. 2020. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Online: http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html
Frost, D. R., J. R. Mendelson III, and J. Pramuk. 2009. Further notes on the nomenclature of Middle American toads (Bufonidae). Copeia 2009(2):418-418.
Frost, D.R., T. Grant, J. Faivovich, R. Bain, A. Haas, C.F.B. Haddad, R.O. de Sa´, S.C. Donnellan, C.J. Raxworthy, M. Wilkinson, A. Channing, J.A. Campbell, B.L. Blotto, P. Moler, R.C. Drewes, R.A. Nussbaum, J.D. Lynch, D. Green, and W.C. Wheeler. 2006. The amphibian tree of life. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 297: 1-370.
Mendelson, J. R., III, D. G. Mulcahy, T. S. Williams, and J. W. Sites, Jr. 2011. A phylogeny and evolutionary natural history of mesoamerican toads (Anura: Bufonidae: Incilius) based on morphology, life history, and molecular data. Zootaxa 3138:1-34.
Mount, R. H. 1975. The reptiles and amphibians of Alabama. Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. vii + 347 pp.
Mulcahy, D. G., and J. R. Mendelson, III. 2000. Phylogeography and speciation of the morphologically variable, widespread species <i>Bufo valliceps</i>, based on molecular evidence from mtDNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 17:173-189.
Porter, K.R. 1970. Bufo valliceps. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 94:1-4.