A medium sized 5-7cm. toad. Fowler's toad is similar to the American toad but, on closer examination, usually has three of four small warts in each brownish blotch on the back. (American toads have one large wart per blotch.) The bony ridges behind the eyes actually touch the front edge of the parotoid glands. Fowler's toad is found in lakeside marshes and ponds along the north shore of Lake Erie. Breeding toads can be seen in the numerous ponds formed by sandbars on Long Point. They forage in the litter along beaches and in wooded areas farther inland. Male Fowler's toads begin to call as the water in the ponds begin to warm in May and June. The call is a short trill. Like those of the American toad, tadpoles are black, school together and develope very fast. Adult toads hibernate under sand on raised beaches. This species is one of Ontario's rarest amphibians. Unfortunatley, this toad is found on those beaches that recieve some of the most intensive use by vacationers. Its breeding behaviour is similar to that of the American toad. Because ots rarity, this species is not often encountered. Identification of Fowler's toad in its restricted range is complicated by its hybridization, of interbreeding, with the American toad to produce offspring that are itermediate between the two species.