Description

Anaxyrus fowleri is an abundant toad of relatively small size, ranging from 2.00-3.75 inches SVL. While this species usually displays an immaculate venter, many specimens have been observed to have a single dark spot on the chest. Characteristically, this species has a light-colored middorsal stripe, coupled with a brown or gray dorsal surface, though some individuals may have a green or reddish dorsal surface. In general, A. fowleri characteristically displays at least three of the following characteristics: tibia with no greatly enlarged warts, no spots on the chest or belly, the largest dark spots containing at least three warts, and a parotoid gland that borders the cranial ridge (Conant and Collins 1991).

Similar species may be distinguished by the following features: 1) the American Toad displays no more than 2 warts in dark regions coupled with a spotted chest; 2) the Gulf Coast Toad possesses a prominent dark stripe instead of the light colored stripe observed in A. fowleri; and, 3) the posterior region of the cranial crest of the Southern Toad displays pronounced knobs.

The species was named after an early Massachusetts naturalist, S. P. Fowler.