Length 2 – 3 1/2 in. (5-9 cm). American Toads are common in Ohio from urban backyards to remote woodlands. In spring, they congregate in large numbers in just about every available shallow breeding pond. Their courtship activities go on night and day for a month or more. Then the toads abandon the ponds abruptly, leaving behind long strands of eggs. One female may lay as many as 12,000 eggs. These soon hatch into tiny, jet-black tadpoles. By early June, they transform into pea-size toads that emerge from the ponds by the thousands. There have been reports of American Toads living to be 30 years of age. American Toads tend to have one, two, or three warts in each of the dark dorsal spots. Fowler’s Toads generally have three or more warts in each of the larger dorsal spots.
Text courtesy of the Ohio Division of Wildlife: https://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wildlife/pdfs/publications/id%20guides/pub348.pdf
