Wednesday, April 16th
April's meeting will focus on how to safely handle and present your reptile to the public. Please feel free to bring your own animal to show off.
Meetings start promptly at 8pm in the Alumni Room of Medaille College.
Annual Banquet
PLEASE NOTE: The annual banquet and recognition dinner will be rescheduled due to conflicts. The new date will likely be a Saturday in May, please contact a board member for more information.
Eastern Spadefoot
(Scaphiopus holbrookii)
The eastern spadefoot is one of the more easily identifiable species encountered. They have large bulging eyes with vertical pupil. They tend to be mostly dark green in color with yellow hourglass markings on the back. The hind feet have a small spade-like appendage (hence the name eastern spadefoot) that the use for digging.
You are most likely to encounter the eastern spadefoot in forests with sandy or loose soil. They are primarily nocturnal and spend their days in burrows and come out at night to feed. If you are looking to see eastern spadefoots in the wild it is best to explore at night with a powerful flashlight or headlight and look for their eye-shine. When lit, the eastern spadefoot's eyes reflect a pinkish glow that makes it easy to locate them.
Reproduction in the eastern spadefoot is induced by heavy rains of several inches or more. This will often cause an "explosive breeding" where the entire local population breeds. These rains generally occur in the spring and early summer, but the eastern spadefoot will reproduce any time during the year that these conditions are met. The eastern spadefoot deposits its eggs in the temporary pools caused by these rains. The eggs are laid in large numbers often numbering in the thousands and are laid in strings. Once laid, the eggs hatch very quickly. The tadpoles also develop quickly due to the temporary nature of the pools where the eggs are deposited. It is not unusual to see many small juvenile eastern spadefoots all emerge from the breeding pools at the same time during an "explosive breeding."
Eastern spadefoots can be found throughout most of the eastern United States from Massachusetts to Alabama. In New York State, they have been most widely reported on Long Island. When soil conditions are correct, they are often one of the most common species found.
Remember that in many places it is illegal to take wildlife out of the wild without the proper permits from local, state, or federal authorities. Please do not release any captive reptiles or amphibians into the wild as this will disrupt the natural order of our environment. See our amphibian and reptile adoptions page for more information on what to do with unwanted herps.
Help further herpetology research and education by donating to the Marvin R. Aures Herpetological Grant