Description

it is divided into three subspecies:  (A. a. americanus), the dwarf  toad (A. a. charlesmithi) and the rare Hudson Bay toad (A. a. copei). Recent taxonomic treatments place this species in the genus Anaxyrus instead of Bufo.

A. americanus eggs are bicolored. They are often a roughly equal mixture of a black or brown with white or cream. The eggs are deposited in two long ropes that have been recorded to transcend 60 m in length. Single egg diameter ranges from 0.1 cm to 0.2 cm.

The American toad lays between 2,000-20,000 eggs in two strings which hatch in 3-12 days. The hatched tadpoles, while very small, are recognizable by their skinny tails in relation to the size of their round black bodies.

They reach adulthood in 50–65 days. When metamorphosis is complete, the “toadlets” may stay in the water for a short period of time before transitioning to be mostly land based. Often times, groups of tadpoles reach the toadlet stage at once and a begin a mass migration to higher ground. Typically, toadlets migrate to shaded areas in the mid-range and upland forests that border the marshes where they were bred.

Toadlets can be observed eating microscopic bugs in their roaming ground between various vegetation; they are also known to eat ants, spiders, slugs and worms.

Studies have shown that they have a mutualistic relationship with Chlorogonium algae, which makes tadpoles develop faster than normal. Leaf litter from invasive plants like autumn olive or purple loosestrife in the larval nursery can increase the burden of trematode parasite infestation among tadpoles.