Amargosa Toad
Encyclopedia
The Amargosa toad is a species of toad
in the Bufonidae family. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Western toad
.
in the Amargosa Desert
of Nevada
, United States
. Its natural habitat
is along a 10-mile stretch of the Amargosa River
in the Oasis Valley and upland springs.
It is listed as threatened because it has a tiny restricted range and is more subsceptible to habitat loss, but there are no immediate severe population issues.
Effective steps are being taken by local citizens, ranchers, and farmers to preserve and restore the Amargosa toad's population in the area, in part to avoid federal intervention through the Endangered Species Act
.
Toad
A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...
in the Bufonidae family. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Western toad
Western toad
The Western toad more commonly known as is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches...
.
Distribution
The Amargosa toad is endemic to the Oasis ValleyOasis Valley
Oasis Valley is a valley in the Amargosa Desert near Beatty in Nye County, western Nevada. The valley is near the Amargosa Range, and the Amargosa River flows through Oasis Valley to the Amargosa Valley.-Natural history:...
in the Amargosa Desert
Amargosa Desert
The Amargosa Desert is located in Nye County in western Nevada, United States, along the California–Nevada border. It is largely coincident with the geographic Amargosa Valley....
of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is along a 10-mile stretch of the Amargosa River
Amargosa River
The Amargosa River is an intermittent waterway, long, in southern Nevada and eastern California in the United States. It drains a high desert region, the Amargosa Valley in the Amargosa Desert northwest of Las Vegas, into the Mojave Desert, and finally into Death Valley where it disappears into...
in the Oasis Valley and upland springs.
It is listed as threatened because it has a tiny restricted range and is more subsceptible to habitat loss, but there are no immediate severe population issues.
Effective steps are being taken by local citizens, ranchers, and farmers to preserve and restore the Amargosa toad's population in the area, in part to avoid federal intervention through the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
.
External links
- Nevada Fish & Wildlife Office: Amargosa Toad - website of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Nevada Office