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Pelobatidae |
| European Spadefoot Toads Fossil range: 46–0 Ma Mid Eocene – Recent1 |
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.jpg) Pelobates fuscus
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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 The distribution of Pelobatidae (in black).
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Pelobates cultripes |
The European spadefoot toads are a family of frogs, the Pelobatidae, with only one genus Pelobates, containing four species. They are native to Europe, the Mediterranean, northwestern Africa and western Asia.
The European spadefoot toads are small to large sized frogs, up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length, which are often inconspicuously coloured. They are predominantly fossorial (burrowing) frogs, which burrow in sandy soils. They have a hardened protrusion on their feet to aid in digging, which is the source of the common name. They will emerge from the ground during periods of rain and breed in pools, which are usually temporary.2
All of the species from this family have free-living, aquatic tadpoles. The eggs are laid in temporary ponds that may quickly evaporate, so tadpole stage is unusually brief, with rapid development to the adult form in as little as two weeks. To further speed their growth, some of the tadpoles are cannibalistic, eating their brood-mates to increase their supply of protein.2
The seven species of American Spadefoot Toads (genera Scaphiopus and Spea) were previously also included into the Pelobatidae family, but are now generally regarded as the separate family Scaphiopodidae.
Family Pelobatidae
The earliest fossil genus of pelobatids, Elkobatrachus, was described in 2006.1
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