T he potholes and intermittent streams on the Colorado Plateau hold a variety of surprises. Tadpole shrimp and fairy shrimp appear the day after it rains, and pollywogs appear in some pools. Pollywogs ...

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) - The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has opened its latest exhibit, Spadefoot Splash, inviting the public to explore the beauty and significance of water in the desert. The exhibit, ...

Deep within aquatic ecosystems all over the world, certain toad species have managed to survive warmer and drier climate change. But the method behind their metamorphic adaptation to environmental ...

"One of the effects from rapid larval development in the desert toads is they don't have certain physical characteristics that their cousins in wetter environments have," says Buchholz. ""For example, ...

In order to ensure the best quality offspring, the female plains spadefoot toad chooses the best mate around — even when that male belongs to another species. The plains spadefoot toad lives in the ...

The desert conditions of the Southwestern United States can make life tough for water-dwelling creatures. But some of the ecosystem's animals have learned to adapt — and get creative with their love ...

If you’re going to make it as an amphibian in the desert, you have to get hopping when an opportunity presents itself. Monsoon season in Tucson is also mating season for a variety of native frogs and ...

When rain falls and water is plentiful, the sex lives of plains spadefoot toads are pretty, well, plain. Females prowl ponds for the suitor with the most winsome call; they pair off to couple, ...

If you think you're having a bad day, check out this frog. It's been spotted in the Ethabuka nature reserve in Central West Queensland, Australia looking awfully grumpy. As its name suggests, the ...