Western toad
Anaxyrus boreas (Baird & Girard, 1852)
LCLeast Concernfrogs and toads
The western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) is a species in the family Bufonidae, order Anura. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the western toad
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 12.5 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 11.5 years
- Main food
- arthropods, leavessrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5,213 – 16,500src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At dawn and dusk (crepuscular)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the western toad
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the western toad live?
Not recorded
What is the western toad?
The western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm (2.2 and 5.1 in) long, native to western North America. A. boreas is frequently encountered during the wet season on roads, or near water at other times. It can jump a considerable distance for a toad. Breeding occurs between March and July in mountainous areas, and as early as January in lower-elevation regions. The female lays up to 17,000 eggs stuck together in strings that adhere to vegetation and other objects along water edges.
From the Wikipedia article “Western toad” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_toad&oldid=1362847538), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the western toad endangered?
The western toad is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the western toad classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- familyBufonidae
- genusAnaxyrus
- SpeciesAnaxyrus boreas (Baird & Girard, 1852)
Synonyms Anaxyrus boreas boreas, Anaxyrus boreas halophilus, Bufo boreas, Bufo boreas boreas, Bufo boreas halophilus, Bufo canagicus canagicus, Bufo canagicus halophilus, Bufo columbiensis, Bufo columbiensis columbiensis, Bufo columbiensis halophilus, Bufo halophila, Bufo halophilus, Bufo halophilus columbiensis, Bufo halophilus halophilus, Bufo lamentor, Bufo lentiginosus pictus, Bufo nestor, Bufo pictus, Bufo politus, Rana canagica
Other names and names in other languages (15)
- Boreal toadEnglish
- Boreal toadEnglish
- Boreal toadEnglish
- ropucha západoamerickáCzech
- ColumbiakröteGerman
- Sapo del oesteSpanish
- Sapo de Baja CaliforniaSpanish
- Sapo occidentalSpanish
- crapaud de l'OuestFrench
- セイブヒキガエルJapanese
- Noordelijke padDutch
- Sapo-ocidentalPortuguese
- Западная жабаRussian
- Западноамериканская жабаRussian
- Nordlig paddaSwedish
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the western toad
Other species in the same genus Anaxyrus.
American toad
Anaxyrus americanus
Wyoming toad
Anaxyrus baxteri
Yosemite toad
Anaxyrus canorus
Amargosa toad
Anaxyrus nelsoni
Southern toad
Anaxyrus terrestris
Great plains toad
Anaxyrus cognatus
CompareWestern toad vs American toadWestern toad vs Wyoming toadWestern toad vs Yosemite toadWestern toad vs Amargosa toad
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
Is the western toad endangered?
The western toad is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What does the western toad eat?
Its recorded main food is arthropods and leaves.
What kind of animal is the western toad?
The western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) belongs to the family Bufonidae in the order Anura.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits · CC BY 4.0 · v1
Oliveira, B.F., São-Pedro, V.A., Santos-Barrera, G., Penone, C. & Costa, G.C. (2017) AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits. Scientific Data 4: 170123. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.123. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.4644424.v5 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Western toad (Anaxyrus boreas). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-toad
“Western toad (Anaxyrus boreas).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-toad.
@misc{western_toad_2026,
title = {Western toad (Anaxyrus boreas)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-toad},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}