Plains Spadefoot
The plains spadefoot (Spea bombifrons) is the most easily recognized toad in North Dakota. Its skin is smooth like that of a frog, and it has a distinct vertical pupil like that of a cat. Its color varies from a light cream, to gray or brown, and may have small orange spots.
Their back feet have a digging spur (spade) used to burrow into the soil. They may burrow 3 feet or more underground until they hit a layer of moist soil.
Spadefoots are known as explosive breeders. During warm summer months they emerge in the evening after a heavy rain to quickly breed in shallow pools. Females lay 2,000 eggs, which hatch in 2-4 days and tadpoles metamorphose into toadlets (i.e. small toads) within one month. By morning, adults are back underground awaiting the next heavy rain. Spadefoots eat a variety of small invertebrates.