Posted by William Keyes on April 28, 2008

Q: We live in woods by a creek that empties into the White River.

Friday we found long strands of what I think are toad eggs in the creek. (toads lay in strands, frogs in blobs right?) The water is about 8 inches deep. The strands are about 5-8 feet long and are NOT spiraled. Basically they look like small black beads in a clear tube. There were several strands.

As I understand it, there are 3 toads in central indiana, but one's egg strands are black on one side and white on the other. Not what we have. And the other 2 lay their eggs in spirals. These strands are straight, not spiraled.

So my question is, do we have some other kind of toad eggs here or is my info incorrect?

Thanks!

Habitat: stream/river

State: Indiana

Habitat: stream/river

A: From what I was able to learn, the three toads found in Indiana are the American, the Dwarf (a subspecies of the American) and Fowler's Toads. I don't think you have an unusual toad at all - I think the eggs you found are likely from the American Toad. Although the American Toad's eggs do look black when first seen, they are two-toned. Their eggs are countershaded - dark above and a pale color on the bottom. I've also seen toad eggs that were in "rather straight" strands and not as spiraled as you might expect so I don't think this unusual. Also, the Fowler's Toad tends to breed later than the American Toad where the two overlap. So, seems to me your mystery toad is probably the American Toad (Bufo americanus). Hope this helps.

John Wiessinger ( April 29, 2008)