THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY


Amphibia    Anura    Bufonidae  

Hot Creek Toad
Anaxyrus monfontanus (Gordon, Simandle, Sandmeier, and Tracy, 2020)
an-ax-ehr-us — maan-fon-TAN-us

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
This isolated population was diagnosed with respect to other taxa and populations in the A. boreas group using morphology and mitochondrial DNA data. See comments under A. boreas

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.10.03.27)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.01 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: Nevada

Etymology: The scientific name Anaxyrus monfontanus combines a Greek-derived genus name with a Latinized species epithet referencing a specific geographic location:
Anaxyrus — From Greek: ἀνάξ (anax) = “lord” or “king”. Anaxyrus means “noble toad” or “lordly toad,” reflecting its perceived prominence among North American toads.
monfontanus — From Latin roots: mons, montis = “mountain” fontanus = “of a spring” or “spring-dwelling”. monfontanus means something like “from the mountain springs” or “spring-dwelling in the mountains.” However, in this case, it more specifically refers to the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada, where this species is endemic. The name is a Latinized form of Mount Springs or Spring Mountains.

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
2004 Pauly, Gregory B., David M. Hillis, and David C. Cannatella. The history of a Nearctic colonization: Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the Nearctic toads (Bufo). Evolution 58:2517-2535
2008 Pauly, Gregory B. Phylogenetic systematics, historical biogeography, and the evolution of vocalizations in Nearctic toads (Bufo). Dissertation. University of Texas, Austin. 165pp.
2020 Gordon, Michelle R., Eric T. Simandle, Franziska C. Sandmeier, and C. Richard Tracy. Two new cryptic endemic toads of Bufo discovered in central Nevada, western United States (Amphibia: Bufonidae: Bufo [Anaxyrus]). Copeia 108(1):166-183
2023 Dodd, C. Kenneth. Frogs of the United States and Canada. Second Edition. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 1032pp.

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Wednesday 18 June 2025 09:39 CT