NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Houston Toad
Anaxyrus houstonensis (Sanders, 1953)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Houston toad (Anaxyrus houstonensis), formerly Bufo houstonensis, is an endangered species of amphibian that is endemic to Texas in the United States. This toad was discovered in the late 1940s and named in 1953. It was among the first amphibians added to the United States List of Endangered Native Fish and Wildlife and is currently protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as an endangered species. The Houston toad was placed as "endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species from 1986 to 2022, and has worsened to "critically endangered" since then, with fewer than 250 mature individuals believed to remain in the wild as of 2021. Their kind is threatened every day as they continue to suffer from a loss of habitat and extreme drought. Their typical life expectancy is at least 3 years but it may exceed this number.
Wikipedia contributors, Houston toad; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:56:38.421110+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anaxyrus houstonensis (Sanders, 1953)
- Name authority
- (Sanders, 1953)
- Common name
- Houston Toad
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Bufonidae
- Genus
- Anaxyrus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- familyBufonidae Gray, 1825
- genusAnaxyrus Tschudi, 1845
- speciesAnaxyrus houstonensis (Sanders, 1953)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Anaxyrus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| American ToadAnaxyrus americanus (Holbrook, 1836) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anaxyrus kelloggi (Taylor, 1938) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Amargosa ToadAnaxyrus nelsoni (Stejneger, 1893) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Great Plains ToadAnaxyrus cognatus (Say in James, 1823) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anaxyrus compactilis (Wiegmann, 1833) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chihuahuan Green ToadAnaxyrus debilis (Girard, 1854) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anaxyrus williamsi (Gordon, Simandle & Tracy, 2017) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black ToadAnaxyrus exsul (Myers, 1942) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Arizona ToadAnaxyrus microscaphus (Cope, 1867) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sonoran Green ToadAnaxyrus retiformis (Sanders & Smith, 1951) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern ToadAnaxyrus terrestris (Bonnaterre, 1789) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-spotted ToadAnaxyrus punctatus (Baird & Girard, 1852) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Bufo americanus houstonensis Sanders, 1953 Sanders, 1953 | synonym |
| Bufo houstonensis Sanders, 1953 Sanders, 1953 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=773522 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:66M7D. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.