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<IMG SRC="../../media/amphibians/houston_toad.jpg" ALT="Houston Toad
Credit: Glen Mills [Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.]" WIDTH="230" HEIGHT="154" BORDER="0" ALIGN="left" HSPACE="8">
<FONT FACE="verdana,arial,helvetica" SIZE="6"><B>Houston Toad</B></FONT>
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<FONT FACE="verdana,arial,helvetica" SIZE="2"><I>Bufo houstonensis</I></FONT>
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The Houston toad's <A HREF="../glossary.html#habitat" TARGET="eslist">habitat</A> includes ponds, flooded fields, lakes, roadside ditches and pastures. The Houston toad is currently numerous in the Bastrop County in Texas where there are 1500 individuals.
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The Houston toad is brown with black spots covered with warts. The females are larger than the males; the females measuring from 2.1 inches (5.3cm) to 3.1 inches (7.9cm), and the males from 1.8 inches (4.6cm) to 2.7 (6.9cm) inches with the males.
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The diet of the adults differs from those of the tadpoles. The adults eat insects such as ants and beetles while tadpoles feed on ants and pine pollen.
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Breeding occurs in late January when the temperature is around 57°F (14°C).
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The Houston toad was discovered in the late 1940s and was thought to be <A HREF="../glossary.html#extinct" TARGET="eslist">extinct</A> because of severe droughts in Texas in the 1950s. It was found again in Bastrop State Park in 1965. There are many reasons for the decline of its <A HREF="../glossary.html#population" TARGET="eslist">population</A>: <A HREF="../glossary.html#drought" TARGET="eslist">droughts</A>, clearing of its habitats, use of <A HREF="../glossary.html#pesticide" TARGET="eslist">pesticides</A>, and weather changes. The existing populations are being protected and there is a search for other suitable habitats.
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<IMG SRC="../../media/maps/houston_toad.gif" ALT="Map of Where Houston Toads Are Located" WIDTH="320" HEIGHT="183" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="2" BORDER="0" ALIGN="right">
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<U>Bibliography</U>
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<LI>TEN - Treasure Sites <A HREF="http://www.ten.org/tsites/ewt/threatened/rendangered.html" TARGET="esfact">[Threatened Species - Endangered Reptiles & Amphibians]</A></LI>
<LI>U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <A HREF="http://www.fws.gov/r9endspp/endspp.html" TARGET="esfact">Division of Endangered Species</A></LI>
<LI><U>Encyclopedia of Endangered Species.</U> Edited by Mary Emanoid in Association with IUCN - The World Conservation Union. Detroit, Washington D.C., London: Gale Research Inc., 1994</LI>
<LI>Photo Credit: "Houston Toad" by Glen Mills [Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.]</LI>
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[<A HREF="../esframe.html#es" TARGET="_top">Endangered Species List</A>] [ <A HREF="../slide/htoad_slide.html" TARGET="_top">Back to slide show</A> ]
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