Spea hammondii (Western Spadefoot)
Credit: Brad Shaffer
about the species
The western spadefoot (often incorrectly referred to as toads) complex consists of two closely related species; Spea hammondii (western spadefoot) and Spea intermontana (great basin spadefoot). The western spadefoot is a wide-ranging but severely declining species that is restricted to low-elevation vernal pool habitats in the Central Valley (Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys), inner coast range valleys, and coastal southern California, with a natural distributional break in Santa Barbara County (Thomson et al. 2016). Both are vernal pool specialists, and as such are an important indicator species for this previously widespread, but severely declining habitat type.
why species was selected
Although still geographically widespread, the western spadefoot is a California Species of Special Concern (SSC, Thomson et al., 2016) and is a candidate for federal listing under the US Endangered species act. Given their wide range and broad geographic distribution across the central valley and coastal southern California, and the intertwined evolutionary history of the two contained taxa (they were considered a single species until 2003), the spadefoot complex is one of the highest conservation targets of the CDFW and USFWS.
