short limbs and nails to dig into the soil and create burrows. The frog can survive long periods of drought inside this burrow. When the frog is making its vocalization or when it is alarmed its body becomes inflated and resembles a balloon, with its already short head and limbs almost disappearing. This mechanism is not deeply studied, and may require more research to determine its physiology. Diet The Mexican burrowing toad primarily subsists on ants and termites that they forage underground. Their features are specialized for underground foraging, especially the way the tongue is used by shifting it forward rather than the lingual flip seen in other frogs. This mode is unique among anurans, and is highly specialized for capturing small insects in burrows. Reproduction and Life Cycle This species has a characteristically short and explosive breeding period, often lasting only one to three days. This explosive breeding combined with the ecological condition of dry seasonal forests have influenced the evolution of their courtship behavior and male-female interactions. There is size sexual dimorphism in this species with females being larger than males, and male-male contests are largely absent during the short breeding period. Due to the absence of male-male competition and territoriality, females select their mates based on the frequency and tonality of advertisement calls. The characteristics of the advertisement call can give females insight to male size, which affects mating with larger females opting for larger mates over smaller ones. Breeding Breeding in this species occurs after heavy rains in small temporary pools. Based on Costa Rican populations, clutch sizes range from 2,000-8,000 eggs. The Mexican burrowing toads are considered explosive breeders, and reproduce in a way where many individuals exit burrows at the same time to gather at temporary pools of water for breeding to occur. The males then float on the surface of the water and inflate their bodies while making a characteristic call that attracts females. The toad’s mating periods is between one to three days, one of the shortest seasons among amphibians, and after this period they burrow back into the ground and remain there until the next breeding season. Sexual Maturity Sexual maturity in the Mexican burrowing toad is determined by examining testes size in males and ovarian stages in females. The presence of enlarged testes and a larger body size is used to determine maturity in males, and various ovarian characteristics including