A Warty Visitor: Part 1

An interesting visitor hopped in front of me the other night: an orange toad. Like many of the other creatures I photograph, it was somewhat camera-shy. It immediately hid between the cross-ties, but I managed to get a few shots anyway. Throughout this shoot, the hardest thing for me was getting the eyes to come in crisp and clear. I had the same trouble photographing the Gray Tree Frog earlier.

After this I nudged the toad out gently with a twig and it allowed me to take some more shots. No doubt it thought I was a predator, for it remained very still, hoping I would be fooled by the camouflage.

Still believing I was a predator, the toad hopped a short distance away. I followed.

Yes, there is a shiny spot on the toad's back...Katie had to investigate, so she licked it. That was the first and last time, as it apparently didn't taste very good.  Fortunately she didn't actually bite down, for she happened to lick the toad right on one of its paratoid glands, which secrete a thick, sticky white poison, and she could've become ill. 

I had some difficulty in identifying this toad. It could belong to one of 3 species: the Eastern American Toad, (Bufo americanus americanus, or Anaxyrus a.a.), Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri, or Anaxyrus f.), or the Southern Toad (Bufo terrestris, or Anaxyrus t.). Now, it seems to me that the main distinguishing characteristics of toads are the shape and position of the cranial crests and paratoid glands, as well as the frequency of warts on the back and the presence of spots on the belly.

http://wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/docs/american.toad.html

http://www.frogforum.net/toads/8997-few-toadlet-pics.html

In terms of characteristics, this toad has a spotted throat (and, presumably, a spotted belly), while Fowler's doesn't (except for the small black mark on its throat, a feature both species share). As far as I can tell, my toad's paratoid gland is separate from its cranial crest (like the American Toad), though unfortunately this latter part is not pronounced. In fact, it's hardly visible. This toad definitely doesn't have the Southern's pronounced knobs. Moreover, it looks to have no more than 2 warts in a cluster, like the American Toad, whereas Fowler's Toad would have 3 or more. In addition, Fowler's Toad usually doesn't have rusty or red colors like this toad has. 

Thus, the description of the Eastern American Toad seems to correspond most closely with what I observed in my toad. However, there's always the possibility that it could be of a different species, even a hybrid, as the ranges of the American Toad and Fowler's Toad overlap. So, don't hesitate to correct me if I've wrongly identified this toad. I'm more interested in getting the ID right than being right myself. Also, let me know if you know the sex of this toad.

This is a good site about frogs and toads, specific to my state of South Carolina:
http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/frogs/scfrog.htm

Here's one pertaining to North Carolina:
http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC/anurans/Bufame/Buf_ame.html

I also consulted these sites:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/herps/amphibid/species/american.htm
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/herps/amphibid/species/bfowl.htm
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/herps/amphibid/species/bterrest.htm
http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=AR0006
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Bufo_americanus.html
http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-genus=Anaxyrus&where-species=americanus