Scaphiopus holbrookii. Said to be uncommon..... they appear practically everywhere in great numbers following heavy rains, and at times it's hard to walk outside at night without stepping on them..... but during dry weather, they are almost never seen! It is said they spend a fair amount of time underground. A normal heavy downpour usually won't satisfy their urge to emerge, but a torrential flooding warm rain that causes normal low dry areas to fill with standing water will usually do the trick, especially if it's warm and humid during the event, and they seem to emerge in vast numbers only several times a year or less....... and in other years they are never seen if the rains don't come.

These were taken in and near St. Augustine, Florida.




Scaphiopus holbrookii

Here's a short video (.AVI format) of Scaphiopus holbrookii and here's a high-resolution video (.WMV format), with excellent sound quality.











































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