Scaphiopus couchii
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Couch's spadefoot toad or Couch's spadefoot (Scaphiopus couchii) is a species of North American spadefoot toad (family Scaphiopodidae). The specific epithet couchii is in honor of American naturalist Darius Nash Couch, who collected the first specimen while on a personal expedition to northern Mexico to collect plant, mineral, and animal specimens for the Smithsonian Institution.
Unlike other toads which have horizontal pupils, spadefoot toads have vertical pupils. On the underside of the hind foot is a hard, dark "spade" that gives spadefoot toads their name. The length of this spadefoot ranges from 5.5 to 9 cm (2.2 to 3.5 in), and body color being yellow to yellow-green, with darker mottling. These "spades" are used by the toads to burrow into the ground to prevent water loss and hide from predators. There are two spadefoot species in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and California. Couch's spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus couchi) has a sickle-shaped "spade", whereas the western spadefoot toad (Spea hammondii) has a rounded "spade". Contrary to the name, spadefoots are not true toads
Couch's spadefoot is native to the United States southwest of southeastern... Wikipedia →
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United States · 2013
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United States · 2019
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Mexico · 2026
© Bjorn V. Peterson · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cabo Pulmo National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Couch's Spadefoot sighting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 8 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Couch's Spadefoot in Big Bend National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to March, the lowest months. That is one of Big Bend National Park's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 10 mm in April.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Couch's Spadefoot sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Couch's Spadefoot sightings, Big Bend National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cabo Pulmo National Park (Mexico, about 40%), Saguaro National Park (United States, about 20%) and El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 10%).
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Couch's Spadefoot that you can see in Big Bend National Park (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are Red-spotted Toad (about 30%), Rio Grande Leopard Frog (about 20%) and Texas Toad (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Couch's Spadefoot is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Big Bend National Park (28 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
