Smithville Houston Toad Society - (512) 237-3890

This site is for the education and conservation of the endangered Houston Toads which can only be found in 9 Texas counties...no longer in Houston.

The Houston Toad (Bufo houstonensis) is a federally endangered species and its closest relative is the American toad. The basic area of its habitat is between Harris County west to Bastrop County, and Colorado County in the south to Burleson County to the north. It likes to burrow in sandy soil and enjoys the cool shade from pine trees. Breeds in grassy areas, ponds and marshes.

The size of the toads are 2" to 2.5". Females are larger and have more bulk.

They breed with the rains of late winter and spring, start singing in February and have a clutch of more than 1,000 eggs.

Darkened tubercle in color with lateral coloring, dorsal range from brown to grey with sometimes a purple tinge. Dorsal tubercles can be reddish with black encircling it. Any large dark spots are poorly defined. A light vertebral line, from the snout to the vent, is usually noticeable. The postorbital ridges are heavy and interorbital ridges are well developed. At the outermost end, each has a spur projecting that touches the large parotoid glands. With a light colored belly and dark spots, the males sport a dark throat and the females light. The vocal sac is rounded and large.

Bastrop County has Gulf Coast and Woodhouse toads that can easily be confused with the endangered Houston toad. Woodhouse's have parotoid gland in contact with the postorbital ridge. The Gulf Coast'ers have a deep rounded valley between the eyes, triangular parotoid glands, and the interorbital ridges extend well posterior to the postocular ridges.

Nocturnal for the most part and crepuscular, gets vocal at nightfall or even before that on warm, overcast or rainy afternoons. Seen at dusk hopping around a ponds edge or open woodland foraging for food.

With the help of the State Parks, city officials and private land owners, we can protect and save our precious Houston Toads thru education and preserving their habitats, perhaps even bumping up their numbers to get them off of the endangered list...wouldn't THAT be nice!

This grassroots effort to save, preserve and educate can only be done if communities in their dwindling habitat care enough to help the little guys survive. Won't you help? Donations of: information, pictures, habitat land and even monetary gifts are humbly and gratefully excepted.

Tags: Educational Research,Environmental Conservation