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Home/Species/ Mexican Spadefoot

Spea multiplicata

(Cope, 1863)

Mexican Spadefoot

G5Secure Found in 19 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104240
Element CodeAAABF02040
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderAnura
FamilyScaphiopodidae
GenusSpea
Synonyms
Scaphiopus multiplicatusCope, 1863Scaphopus hammondii multiplicatus
Other Common Names
New Mexico Spadefoot (EN) Southern Spadefoot (ES)
Concept Reference
Wiens, J. J., and T. A. Titus. 1991. A phylogenetic analysis of Spea (Anura: Pelobatidae). Herpetologica 47:21-28.
Taxonomic Comments
There is inconsistency in older literature regarding Spea hammondi, S. intermontana, and S. multiplicata. Genetic analysis of nuclear sequence data and RADseq SNPs from the northern and southern populations of western spadefoot, divided by the Transverse Range, indicate two genetically distinct, allopatric clusters that likely make up two species (Neal et al. 2018, Neal 2019). Regarded as conspecific with S. hammondii in older literature.

Garcia-Paris et al. (2003) split the Pelobatidae into two families: Eurasian spadefoot toads (Pelobates), which retain the name Pelobatidae, and North American spadefoot toads (Scaphiopus, Spea), which make up the revived family Scaphiopodidae.
Conservation Status
Review Date2002-04-10
Change Date2001-12-03
Edition Date2011-05-08
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Range Extent Comments
Range extends from southeastern Utah, southern Colorado, and northern Oklahoma south through Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas in the United States, to Guerrero and Oaxaca (Stebbins 1985, Conant and Collins 1991) in Mexico. Elevational range extends up to about 2,470 meters in some areas.
Occurrences Comments
Represented by many and/or large occurrences throughout most of the range.
Threat Impact Comments
In some areas, local populations have been eliminated or reduced by agricultural development and other habitat alterations, but most habitat is not significantly threatened.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species is frequently found in desert grassland, shortgrass plains, creosote bush, sagebrush, and semi-desert shrublands, mixed grassland/chaparral, pinyon-juniper and pine-oak woodland and open pine forest. Similar to other Pelobatid species, this species is considered opportunistic. It burrows underground or occupies rodent burrows when inactive. Eggs and larvae develop in temporary pools and ponds formed by heavy rains.

Reproduction

Lays clutch of up to several hundred eggs after heavy rains in spring or summer. Breeding choruses usually last 1-2 days. Larvae hatch within about 2 days, metamorphose in about 2-6 weeks (Pfennig et al. 1991). Ponds commonly dry up prior to metamorphosis, resulting in complete larval mortality.
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralSavannaGrassland/herbaceousDesert
Palustrine Habitats
TEMPORARY POOL
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
ArizonaS5Yes
Navajo NationS5Yes
New MexicoS5Yes
ColoradoS4Yes
UtahS1Yes
TexasS5Yes
OklahomaS2Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial development——High (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areas——High (continuing)
1.2 - Commercial & industrial areas——High (continuing)
1.3 - Tourism & recreation areas——High (continuing)
2 - Agriculture & aquaculture——High (continuing)
2.1 - Annual & perennial non-timber crops——High (continuing)
4 - Transportation & service corridors——High (continuing)
4.1 - Roads & railroads——High (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (19)
Arizona (8)
AreaForestAcres
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
Lower Jacks CanyonCoconino National Forest777
Lower San FranciscoApache-Sitgreaves National Forests59,310
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
New Mexico (10)
AreaForestAcres
Brushy MountainGila National Forest7,199
Capitan MountainsLincoln National Forest14,069
Carrizo MountainLincoln National Forest17,280
Columbine - Hondo Wilderness Study AreaCarson National Forest43,739
Contiguous To Black & Aldo Leopold WildernessGila National Forest111,883
Meadow CreekGila National Forest34,167
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
South Guadalupe MountainsLincoln National Forest20,930
Tucson MountainLincoln National Forest16,905
West Face Sacramento MountainsLincoln National Forest41,176
Utah (1)
AreaForestAcres
Capital ReefDixie National Forest763
References (24)
  1. Bartlett, R. D., and P. P. Bartlett. 1999a. A field guide to Texas reptiles & amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. xviii + 331 pp.
  2. Bartlett, R. D., and P. P. Bartlett. 1999b. A field guide to Florida reptiles and amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. xvi + 278 pp.
  3. 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.
  4. Brown, H. A. 1976. The status of California and Arizona populations of the western spadefoot toads (genus <i>Scaphiopus</i>). Los Angeles Co. Mus. Nat. Hist. Contr. Sci. 286:1-15.
  5. Conant, R. and J. T. Collins. 1991. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 450 pp.
  6. 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]
  7. Degenhardt, W. G., C. W. Painter, and A. H. Price. 1996. Amphibians and reptiles of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. xix + 431 pp.
  8. Fouquette Jr., M.J., and A. DuBois. 2014. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Seventh Edition. Volume 1—Amphibians. Xlibris LLC, Bloomington, Indiana. 586 pp.
  9. Frost, D. 2001. Amphibian species of the world; an online reference. V2.20. American Museum of Natural History, New York. Available: http://research.amnh.org/cgi-bin/reddy/amphibia220.
  10. 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
  11. García-París, M., D.R. Buchholtz, and G. Parra-Olea. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships of Pelobatoidea re-examined using mtDNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 28:12-23.
  12. Hall, J.A. 1998. <i>Scaphiopus intermontanus</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 650:1-17.
  13. Hammerson, G. A. 1982b. Amphibians and reptiles in Colorado. Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver. vii + 131 pp.
  14. Hammerson, G. A. 1999. Amphibians and reptiles in Colorado. Second edition. University Press of Colorado, Boulder. xxvi + 484 pp.
  15. Neal, K. M. 2019. An integrative population and landscape genomic approach to conservation of a threatened California amphibian at multiple spatial scales. PhD Dissertation. University of California, Los Angeles. 170 pp.
  16. Neal, K. M., B. B. Johnson, and H. B. Shaffer. 2018. Genetic structure and environmental niche modeling confirm two evolutionary and conservation units within the western spadefoot (<i>Spea hammondii</i>). Conservation Genetics 19:937-946.
  17. Nicholson, K. E. (ed.). 2025. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Ninth Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 87 pp. Online database available at: https://cnah.org/SSARnames.aspx
  18. Pfennig, D. W. 1992. Proximate and functional causes of polyphenism in an anuran tadpole. Functional Ecology 6:167-174.
  19. Pfennig, D. W., A. Mabry, and D. Orange. 1991. Environmental causes of correlations between age and size at metamorphosis in <i>Scaphiopus multiplicatus</i>. Ecology 72:2240-2248.
  20. Sattler, P. W. 1985. Introgressive hybridization between the spadefoot toads <i>Scaphiopus bombifrons</i> and <i>S. multiplicatus</i> (Salientia: Pelobatidae). Copeia 1985:324-332.
  21. Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
  22. Stebbins, R.C. 1985b. A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, Massachusetts.
  23. Tanner, W. W. 1989. Status of <i>Spea stagnalis</i> Cope (1875), <i>Spea intermontanus</i> Cope (1889), and a systematic review of <i>Spea hammondii</i> Baird (1839) (Amphibia: Anura). Great Basin Nat. 49:503-510.
  24. Wiens, J. J., and T. A. Titus. 1991. A phylogenetic analysis of <i>Spea </i>(Anura: Pelobatidae). Herpetologica 47:21-28.