About Scaphiopus hurterii Strecker, 1910
Hurter's spadefoot toad, also called Hurter's spadefoot, with the scientific name Scaphiopus hurterii, is a species of American spadefoot toad that belongs to the family Scaphiopodidae. This species is found in the south central United States, specifically in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; its range may also extend into adjacent northern Mexico. It was previously classified as a subspecies of the eastern spadefoot toad, Scaphiopus holbrookii, but is now recognized as its own separate species. Its specific epithet hurterii honors Julius Hurter, a Swiss-American naturalist who worked as curator of the St. Louis Academy of Sciences. This species lives in areas with sandy, gravelly, or soft, light soils, in both wooded and unwooded terrain. It can also be found in sandy open woodland, savanna, and mesquite scrub. When it is not active, this toad burrows underground. Breeding occurs in temporary pools that form after heavy rains.
