| Stephen F. Downs, the lawyer for Save the Pine Bush, the Albany group that brought the suit, said someone on the bench seemed to be paying for an environmental victory with a defeat for the spadefoot toad. |
| Tadpoles of spadefoot toads, genus Scaphiopus, develop in temporary rain pools in arid parts of North America, where it is imperative for the tadpoles to complete their development before the pools dry up. |
| Of all the creatures on the Carrizo, the endurance champion of the underworld is the spadefoot toad. |
| However, Eastern spadefoot toads, which have a very short developmental period prior to metamorphosis, did not show any increase in corticosterone over an hour of confinement. |
| Spadefoot toad tadpoles and other species that develop in ephemeral pools have evolved traits that allow for successful development in an unpredictable environment. |
| Tadpoles of both Couch's spadefoot toad and the Western spadefoot toad accelerate metamorphosis in response to pond drying. |
