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Amphibians · Anura · Pelobatidae
Western Spadefoot
Pelobates cultripes
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
It is named for a horny spur on each hind foot, which it uses to dig backwards and bury itself in sandy ground more than 18 cm down.
Size
4 cm – 12 cm
Lifespan
6 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- adaptaciónIt can stay buried through long droughts thanks to a hard growth on its hind feet that it digs with.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)
- Habitat & environment
- Open ground with sandy or loose soil in the Iberian Peninsula and south-western France, up to 1,800 m
- Birth weight
- Eggs laid in strings up to 100 cm long, with as many as 7,000 eggs per clutch
- Size at birth
- 2-3.5 cm long after metamorphosis
- Sexual maturity
- Male: 2 years | Female: 3 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 2 weeks for the eggs to hatch; 4-6 months to complete larval metamorphosis
- Litter / clutch size
- 1,300 to 7,000 eggs per clutch (varying markedly by source and population)
Sources consulted: PMC (chromosome-level genome assembly study); British Herpetological Society (life history traits study); Forest Watch; Animalia.bio; A-Z Animals; GoneFroggin; Wikipedia (Pelobates cultripes)
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 20 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Western Spadefoot — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Common Tortoise
Testudo graeca
Natterjack Toad
Epidalea calamita
Iberian Painted Frog
Discoglossus galganoi
Turkish Gecko
Hemidactylus turcicus
Parsley Frog
Pelodytes punctatus
Iberian Frog
Rana iberica
How to help
The western spadefoot is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 8 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about western spadefoot.
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