Amphibians
Hurter's Spadefoot
Scaphiopus hurterii · also called Hurter's spadefoots, eastern spadefoot (regional)
After a heavy summer storm soaks the ground, dozens of Hurter’s spadefoots emerge almost simultaneously from underground burrows they may have occupied for months, racing to breed in a temporary pool that could disappear again within a few short weeks.
Overview
Hurter’s spadefoot, Scaphiopus hurterii, is a burrowing amphibian native to sandy or loose-soiled grassland and forest habitat across a broad range of the south-central United States. Its near-total underground lifestyle, rain-triggered explosive breeding, and unusually fast tadpole development make it a well-adapted specialist of the unpredictable rainfall patterns typical of its range.
A life spent waiting for rain
For most of the year, Hurter’s spadefoot is essentially invisible, buried safely underground, only emerging in force when a heavy rainstorm creates exactly the kind of short-lived pool its entire breeding strategy depends on.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and stable across suitable grassland and forest habitat with appropriate loose or sandy soil throughout the south-central United States.
Hurter's Spadefoot: common questions
Why does Hurter's spadefoot spend so much time underground?
This species spends the great majority of its life burrowed underground, using the hard, spade-shaped structure on each hind foot to dig backward into soft or sandy soil, a strategy that protects it from predators, temperature extremes, and dry conditions between the relatively rare periods when it emerges to forage or breed.
Why does Hurter's spadefoot breed only after heavy rain?
This species breeds in an explosive burst of activity triggered specifically by heavy rainfall, timing its emergence to take advantage of temporary pools that form after significant storms, since these short-lived pools provide breeding habitat largely free of the fish and other predators that would threaten eggs and tadpoles in more permanent water.
How can a Hurter's spadefoot tadpole complete development before its pool dries up?
This species' tadpoles develop notably faster than many other frogs, an adaptation that allows them to complete metamorphosis and leave the water as small toadlets before the short-lived temporary pool they hatched in dries up completely, a race against time that shapes much of the species' early life history.
How can you identify a Hurter's spadefoot?
Look for distinctive vertical, cat-like pupils, a feature shared with other spadefoot species and different from the rounded pupils of most other frogs and toads, combined with the hard, sharp-edged spade structure on each hind foot that gives the entire group its common name.