Herpetofauna: One Life's List
Bufo punctatus
Red Spotted Toad
Val Verde Co., Texas
May 22, 1997
"...We headed out on some two-lane roads into the mountains. Late afternoon rains had passed through the area, leaving the roads and the air temperature rather cool. This didn't bode well for a night's road work, and as it turned out we saw nary a herp on the road surface. We did hear a number of calling toads, and stopped to investigate the ditches along the road. I could not locate the toad I heard calling, but Tracey spotted him, a lot higher and further away from the water than I was looking. He was a Red Spotted Toad, Bufo punctatus, and as I got close for a picture, I was amazed by the power of the little toad's trill. It actually rattled the bones in my head! Here was a resonating, penetrating sound that I had never experienced with American or Fowler's Toads - I felt like it could rattle my teeth loose..."
