| Species ID | 020070 |
| Name | Mexican burrowing toad |
| Other Common Names | |
| Category | 02 Amphibians |
| Phylum | |
| Subphylum | |
| Class | Amphibia |
| Subclass | |
| Suborder | |
| Family | Rhinophrynidae |
| Genus | Rhinophyrnus |
| Species | dorsalis |
| Subspecies | |
| References | 2 |
| DISTRICT | References |
| Belize, Belize | 1 |
| Cayo, Belize | 1 |
| Corozal, Belize | 1 |
| Orange Walk, Belize | 1 |
| Stann Creek, Belize | 1 |
| Toledo, Belize | 1 |
| Administrative Unit | Occurrence | Abundance | Temporal | References |
| Caracol Archaeological Reserve | Photographed | Unknown, insufficient data | June | 3 |
| Government land | 1 | |||
| Shipstern Nature Reserve | 1 | |||
| Rio Bravo Conservation Area | 1 | |||
| Altun Ha Archaeological Reserve | 1 | |||
| Caracol Archaeological Reserve | 1 | |||
| Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary | 1 | |||
| Bladen Nature Reserve | 1 | |||
| Deep River Forest Reserve | 1 |
| ELEVATION Association | References |
| 401-600 m | 3 |
| QUAD Distribution | References |
| 16 45' to 17 00'; 89 00' to 89 15' | 3 |
| 17 00' to 17 15'; 89 00' to 89 15' | 1 |
| 16 45' to 17 00'; 89 00' to 89 15' | 1 |
| 17 45' to 18 00'; 88 15' to 88 30' | 1 |
| 18 15' to 18 30'; 88 15' to 88 30' | 1 |
| 18 15' to 18 30'; 88 00' to 88 15' | 1 |
| 16 45' to 17 00'; 88 15' to 88 30' | 1 |
| 16 30' to 16 45'; 88 45' to 89 00' | 1 |
| 16 15' to 16 30'; 88 45' to 89 00' | 1 |
| 18 00' to 18 15'; 88 30' to 88 45' | 1 |
| 17 45' to 18 00'; 89 00' to 89 15' | 1 |
| Holdridge Life Zone Distribution | References |
| Subtropical moist | 3 |
Comments on Distribution
3* Miller, C.M. (1989). Natural history voucher photograph collection, Caracol Arch. Reserve.
| Pictures | |
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Comments on General Food Habits
2* Stuart (1961) showed that these tadpoles are predominantly filter feeders on algae, and he found no evidence of the cannibalism reported for this species in Tehauntepec, Oaxaca, by Starrett (1960:8). They feed on insects, especially ants and termites (McCoy, 1966:306).
| References/Lifestage | Reference Numbers |
| General | 2 |
| References/Lifestage | Reference Numbers |
Life History Narrative
2* Throughout its extensive range in the lowlands of Middle America, this common fossorial frog is generally found on savannas and in seasonally dry forests (Duellman, 1971a:55). Surface activity is largely restricted to the beginning of the rainy season, when large choruses of males call from temporary bodies of water such as flooded pastures, roadside ditches, and savanna aguadas. I found tadpoles at Gosner stage 25 (Gosner, 1960) in early October in Campeche, however, indicating that reproduction may also occur late in the rainy season. The distinctive call is unusually loud and can be heard over great distances. Males generally call from the surface of the water. Their internal vocal sacs become enormously distended, causing the body to rotate in the water during vocalization. Fouquette and Rossman (1963:186) reported that in Guerrero, the female initiates contact with the calling male by bumping her snout against his throat or chest, and the male then clasps her in inguinal amplexus. The females produce several thousand eggs, which they release into the water singly or in small groups. These sink to the bottom and hatch within a few days. Stuart (1961) observed aggregation behavior in tadpoles in the aguadas at Tikal, El Pet‚n, in which groups of 50 or more tadpoles swam in coordinated fashion. I saw the same behavior in Campeche. The aggregations varied in size from approximately 10 cm in diameter and a few hundred individuals to over a meter in diameter and many thousands of tadpoles. All the individuals were similar in size, and tadpoles that were displaced from one aggregation were readily integrated into others. Stuart (1961) showed that these tadpoles are predominantly filter feeders on algae, and he found no evidence of the cannibalism reported for this species in Tehauntepec, Oaxaca, by Starrett (1960:8). Transformed individuals use the enlarged tubercles on the heel to burrow backward into soft substrates. They feed on insects, especially ants and termites (McCoy, 1966:306), and they pass the dry season beneath the surface of the ground in a subterranean chamber of their own construction (Foster and McDiarmid, 1983:420). Within these chambers the frogs are able to endure long periods of drought and can withstand tremendous desiccation, for Fouquette and Rossman (1963:187) reported a captive that burrowed into the soil of its terrarium and survived for nearly two years without food or water. 4* Found at lower elevations throughout Belize wherever soil conditions permit this fossorial species to burrow. It has been reported from all the districts except Stann Creek, but probably also occurs there. This frog, with its color, amorphous body shape, and small cone-shaped head, is unlike any other in Belize. The maximum snout vent length is 2.75 in (70 mm), and the dorsal color is bluish black with a red mid-dorsal stripe and scattered red markings. This bizarre frog appears to be primarily an inhabitant of open or disturbed situations in the wetter parts of its range and elsewhere restricted to seasonal forests with a noticeable dry season. In Belize, it has been found in both open and forested situations in the north and in open and disturbed habitats in the central and southern parts of the country. It is an accomplished burrower, spending the dry season underground and coming to the Surface with the onset of the rainy season. During the wetter months these frogs may leave their burrows at night to forage for insects, particularly ants and termites, but their locomotion is relatively Clumsy. Its call is a deep, drawn-out "wow" or "woah," which in chorus from a distance may sound like machinery. Most breeding activity takes place at the onset of the first heavy rains, after which temporary ponds, or aguadas, fill with water. The males begin to call from their underground burrows with the onset of thundershowers, although they may not make an appearance for several days if sufficient rain does not fall. When conditions are right, males and females congregate in large numbers at breeding ponds, where the males' combined vocalizations may be heard for more than a mile. Eggs are deposited singly and sink to the bottom, where they may later coalesce into clumps. The eggs hatch after a few days into schooling tadpoles that metamorphose into burrowing froglets after a length of time that is temperature dependent, but more or less synchronous for a clutch. In most situations, breeding congregations occur only once at the onset of the rainy season, but in central Belize near the Sibun River, breeding congregations were heard calling on six separate occasions between late June and early November in one year, always following heavy rains. It was subsequently discovered that this population was utilizing the floodplain of the river for breeding and was apparently stimulated by the combination of heavy rains and the flooding river.
Life History References
2, 4
| References/Result | Reference Numbers |
1 Meerman, J., 1994. Summary of Herpetofauna Distributions in Belize. Report to National Protected Areas Management Project. 2 Lee, Julian C. 1996. The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Yucatan Peninsula. Comstock Publishing Associates. Ithaca, New York. 3 Miller, C.M. 1989. Natural history voucher photograph collection. 4 Meyer, J.R. and C.F. Foster. 1996. A Guide to the Frogs and Toads of Belize. pp. 76-77.