Arizona’s Most Magical Creature Appears Only After Monsoon Rains

Thousands of years ago, Ancient Egyptians noticed that dung beetles rolled balls of dung across the desert floor and later saw young beetles emerge from these balls of waste. They didn’t understand insect reproduction, so it seemed that beetles were creating life out of dead matter.

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I’ve often wondered if early people living in Arizona thought the same thing about the Couch’s Spadefoot Toad. One minute you’re walking what seems to be the lifeless, dry, dusty desert. Then a monsoon storm rolls through, puddles form, and suddenly hundreds of little amphibians seem to materialize out of thin air.

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The air is thick with the song of a thousand toads, and driving down the road is a game of “reverse frogger” as you try to avoid hitting them as they jump across the asphalt.

A Desert Creature That Appears Like Magic

According to Arizona Game and Fish, the Couch's Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus couchii) is one of the Sonoran Desert's most magical residents.  Technically, it’s not a true toad, even though it looks like one.

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According to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, after a good monsoon rain, these little amphibians emerge from the earth by the hundreds. They gather in puddles, ditches, stock tanks, and the desert’s temporary monsoon pools.

Then the concert begins.

A cacophony of calls can transform your quiet desert evening into a full-blown amphibian karaoke festival. The chorus is dramatic. So much so that many newcomers are stunned to discover the noise is coming from creatures only a few inches long.

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Where Do They Come From?

They seem to magically materialize out of thin air, but in reality, they've been there all along.

For most of the year, Couch's Spadefoot Toads live underground. When the water disappears, they use their specialized "spades" on their hind feet. They burrow into the soil and stay hidden from predators and the elements until the next big storm. They can stay underground for months at a time.

Safely tucked away under the earth, these savvy desert amphibians stay cool and moist while waiting for the desert's most important event: monsoon season.

READ: How Nonvenomous Snakes Help Control Pests In Arizona

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A Race Against Time

When rain arrives, it’s on: the spadefoots spring into action. Adults emerge ready to breed in those temporary pools created by the storm. Females lay eggs, and the tadpoles develop at remarkable speed, often transforming into tiny toads in just a few weeks.

They have to be quick, says ReptilesOfAZ.org. That ephemeral water nursery can disappear quickly under the Arizona sun.

Once the puddles evaporate, the toads return to their underground sanctuary. There they remain dormant, conserving moisture and energy until another round of summer storms awakens them.

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Why They're Important

The Couch's Spadefoot Toad, like all amphibians, plays an important role in the desert ecosystem: it eats a ton of insects, helping keep insect populations in balance.

Their eggs, tadpoles, and young toads also provide food for birds, snakes, mammals, and other wildlife.

READ ALSO: How 3 Desert Species Survive Arizona's Extreme

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The Desert's Greatest Magic Show

The next time a monsoon storm passes through and the air is filled with the magical song of these creatures that seem to have suddenly materialized in our desert, remember: they didn't actually appear out of nowhere. They were patiently waiting beneath our feet the entire time.

Even though seeing hundreds of Couch's Spadefoot Toads emerge overnight from an otherwise empty desert really does feel pretty magical.