We found this Southern Toad (Anaxyrus terrestris) during our field trip to Dixie Plantation. It was hanging out just off the trail under a log my classmate and I had rolled over. We were able to identify this as a southern toad because of the parotid glands on the back of the head and the dorsal crests right behind the eyes. We weren't able to tell if this was a male or female but the toad was about an inch or so in length. I thought it was funny looking because it reminded me of the Hypnotoad from the show Futerama. We had to put it back under the log because the rest of the class had gotten so far ahead of us but luckily when we came back around it was still sitting under the same log so we were able to show it off to our professor and everyone else. He was pretty chill and had no problem staying still while I took these pictures.
Southern toads are pretty common in the southeast and they're mostly inactive during the day. They like to hide out and burrow until the evening hours when they come out to find food. Their calls are a high pitched sustained trill that sounds kinda like a teapot whistle.
Emily Hood (SC)
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