Colorado River Toad
Incilius alvarius
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAmphibia (Amphibians)
- OrderAnura (Frogs and Toads)
- FamilyBufonidae (True Toads)
- GenusIncilius (Central American Toads)
- SpeciesIncilius alvarius (Colorado River Toad)
About the Colorado River Toad
The Colorado River toad (Incilius alvarius), (previously Bufo alvarius) also known as the Sonoran Desert toad, is a toad species found in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is well known for its ability to exude toxins from glands within its skin that have psychoactive properties.
The toad's scientific name used to be Bufo alvarius, the name for which the toad is generally colloquially still known as. In the early 2000s, the increasingly important role of molecular genetic techniques in taxonomy and their ability to examine phylogenetic relationships allowed scientists to discover numerous distinct genera within the old Bufo group.
The Colorado River toad's name was subsequently changed to Incilius alvarius. The Colorado River toad can grow to about 190 millimetres (7.5 in) long and is the largest toad in the United States apart from the non-native cane toad (Rhinella marina). It has a smooth, leathery skin and is olive green or mottled brown in color. Just behind the large golden eye with a horizontal pupil is a bulging kidney-shaped parotoid gland. Below this is a large circular pale green area which is the tympanum or ear drum. By the corner... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park
Red-spotted Toad
Anaxyrus punctatus
Great Plains Toad
Anaxyrus cognatus
Woodhouse's Toad
Anaxyrus woodhousii
Canyon Tree Frog
Dryophytes arenicolor
American Bullfrog
Lithobates catesbeianus
Couch's Spadefoot
Scaphiopus couchii
Lowland Leopard Frog
Lithobates yavapaiensis
Mexican Spadefoot
Spea multiplicata
African Clawed Frog
Xenopus laevis
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Colorado River Toad in Saguaro National Park?
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Colorado River Toad sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 748 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Colorado River Toad in Saguaro National Park?
July has the highest sighting rate for Colorado River Toad in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.