Spadefoot Toad Facts

Here is a Spadefoot toad, despite the name, Its actually a frog and These frogs spend most of their lives buried underground to avoid the harsh or desert climates that the 6 species of north america inhabit. Using this hard keratinous part of their foot, they dig backwards and can remain in their burrow for many months. When the rains come, they emerge and begin breeding at a pond. Because the ponds could dry up very quickly in the desert, the tadpoles have evolved the ability to develop into frogs very quickly and can do so in as little as 14 days.
To defend themselves, the frogs have a skin secretion that smells a bit like peanutbutter and will cause watery eyes, a runny nose and a sneezing fit. Which, i fell victim to in southern texas when i was there doing herpetology research.

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Sources and video clips used:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_spadefoot_toad

North American spadefoot toads and their incredible fast-metamorphosing, polymorphic tadpoles- Scientific american.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afOn7rkhqtE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR5kX-djLZ0

https://youtu.be/k-AIJicehEo