oviduct size and shape are used in females. Females are most likely to be carrying eggs during May and June, but reproduction can occur in October and January as well. In one study the clutch size ranged from 1,000 to around 8,000 eggs, with larger females carrying proportionally more eggs. R. dorsalis will live underground for most of the year and emerges with heavy rains. The males then float on the surface of water and call to females which results in amplexus. After mating and laying eggs in the water, the environment dries and they will burrow back into the ground. Tadpoles hatch in a few days and transform into adults after one to three months of metamorphosis. Female/Male Interactions Competition between males for females relies primarily on acoustic communication, with males depending on the impressive calls they make to attract females. The short breeding season imposes constraints on their courtship behavior and breeding formations. Because the breeding season is so short, there is more incentive to spend time breeding rather than competing with other males. Therefore, there are few antagonistic interactions between the males of this species and female choice is based on acoustic displays rather than physical competition or territory defense. Males produce two types of Mating calls during the breeding season to attract females. These calls are the pre-advertisement and advertisement calls. In one observational study of the reproductive behavior of The Mexican burrowing toad, the pre-advertisement call was often produced just before the advertisement call. The advertisement call is a single tone with an upward tone, with a duration of about 1.36 seconds. The pre-advertisement call was a single short sound without modulation, and was of higher frequency than the advertisement calls. The calls attract females, after which the male and female will participate in amplexus. In all the mating pairs of R. dorsalis, females mate with smaller males but large females often mate with the larger males present. Females will inflate their bodies during breeding season which allows them to reduce the ability of smaller males to maintain amplexus. Conservation The population trend of the Mexican burrowing toad is described as stable and as of 2019 it is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN. In Mexico and Central America it is widespread and locally abundant in many areas within its range. The species is protected by Mexican law under the Special Protection