Anaxyrus hemiophrys
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie, from original photograph by Gary M. Stolz, USFWS (original photograph in public domain). · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Canadian toad (Anaxyrus hemiophrys), also known commonly as the Dakota toad, is a species of toad that ranges from the prairie regions of western Canada south to parts of the upper midwest of the United States. It belongs to the family Bufonidae, the "true" toads. Its specific name is derived from the Latin word hemiophrys, meaning eyebrow, which refers to its pronounced cranial crest between and behind the eyes. Anaxyrus hemiophrys displays the typical toad characteristics: it lacks a tail and teeth, it has a horizontal pupil, and its dry skin is thick and warty.
The Canadian toad can grow to around 7.6 cm (3 in) in length. Fully grown adult males are usually 5.6 to 6.9 cm (2.2–2.7 in), while females are a little bigger between the ranges of 5.6 and 7.9 cm (2.2–3.1 in) and they weigh between 35 and 55 g. Their colouring is described by Cope (1886) as "brown, marked on the back with a median yellowish line, and two to three rows of brown spots of medium size on each side of it." Each spot has one to two tubercles in their centers which are redder in colour than the rest of the spots. He also identified two spots on the upper lip, one below the tympanum and a large... Wikipedia →
Recording0:20
Canada · 2026
© Peter Taylor · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Canada · 2026
© Kevin Judge · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
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Canada · 2022
© Carla Church · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Canadian Toad sighting in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 6 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Canadian Toad in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months. That is one of Riding Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 70 mm of rain against 20 mm in February.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Canadian Toad 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.
Only Riding Mountain National Park, in our data
Riding Mountain National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Canadian Toad sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Canadian Toad that you can see in Riding Mountain National Park (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are Wood Frog (about 40%), Northern Leopard Frog (about 30%) and Boreal Chorus Frog (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Canadian Toad is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Riding Mountain National Park (7 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.
