burrowing toad grow to be between 75-88 mm (snout-vent length) or about 3.0 to 3.3 inches. Feeding Specializations The toad’s snout is covered in an armor of small keratinous spines, and its lips are sealed by secretions from glands under the mandible. Its lips have a double closure along their maxillary arch, which are enhanced by the glands under the jaw. Morphological studies reveal that the frog has a type of tongue protrusion that is distinct from that of other frogs. Many other frog species project their tongues by a lingual flip, a behavior where the tongue is strongly flipped through the lips and out of the mouth. In this species however, the tongue stiffens and protrudes out of the mouth by moving the jaw backwards. This mechanism is specialized for capturing small insect prey in burrows. Distribution The Mexican burrowing toad is found in tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest, savannas, and thorn scrub (e.g. Tamaulipan mezquital) in the lowlands of Central America, Mexico, and extreme south Texas, USA. The family was once more widespread, including species ranging as far north as Canada, but these died out in the Oligocene. Range-wide the species is categorized as one of least concern by the IUCN, but some local and regional populations are protected and listed as threatened by various governments within its distribution. Rhinophrynus dorsalis occurs in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, USA, ranging southward through the costal lowlands of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea in eastern Mexico including much of the Yucatan Peninsula, into northern Guatemala, Belize, extreme northwest Honduras, and an isolated record from northeast Nicaragua. Another geographically isolated population occurs in the lowlands of the Pacific coast, from extreme southern Michoacán, Mexico, southward into coastal areas of Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and northwest Costa Rica. Habitat Its natural habitats include forest, savanna, shrubland, grassland, and inland wetlands. It primarily inhabits lowland areas of tropical dry and moist forests. It is generally associated with areas which are seasonally flooded because it relies on temporary ponds for breeding. It usually remains underground in the dry season following the breeding period. Its eggs and larvae develop in temporary pools formed by heavy rains, and the adults remain in fairly small areas. Behavior This species is nocturnal. These frogs make burrows to survive the dry season without suffering from lack of water. They use their strong