spadefoot toad
- noun
- /ˈspeɪdˌfʊt toʊd/
- UK
:
sapo pala
- The spadefoot toad uses its spade-like feet to dig burrows in the sandy soil.
- spadefoot toad tadpoles
Examples
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The strongest support for this prediction comes from spadefoot toads, Spea, a desert-dwelling amphibian genus that breeds in rain-filled pools in western North America.
Academic text (1997) -
Cannibalistic spadefoot toad tadpoles, for instance, are less likely to avoid eating siblings when they are hungry than when they have just eaten (Figure 4).
Academic text (1997) -
Spadefoot toad tadpoles possess a unique means of acquiring extra nourishment, thereby hastening development (Pfennig 1992).
Academic text (1997) -
During heavy rains, the spadefoot toad emerges from its underground home to breed in temporary pools.
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In the Northern Hemisphere, the spadefoot toad is known for its unique adaptation to survive in arid environments.
Synonyms
98
1.0
A small animal like a frog with a thick body and dry, bumpy skin
A toad that digs into the ground with hard, spade-shaped back feet
A small toad that lives in the plains and river valleys of central North America east of the Rocky Mountains
A small toad that lives in dry plains, digs holes, and breeds in temporary pools
A small toad from California that burrows and has spade-shaped feet
A California toad that burrows and makes a loud call
A small toad with spade-shaped back feet that lives in dry parts of the southwestern United States
A toad with spade-shaped feet that digs and lives underground in dry parts of the southwestern United States
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is transparently compositional: 'spadefoot' describes a spade-like (digging) foot and 'toad' names the animal, so together they denote a toad with spade-like hind feet used for digging. This is a literal descriptive compound following normal English noun-composition patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings can infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The noun spadefoot toad is named for the hard, spade-shaped part on each back foot that the toad uses to dig into the ground. Because that flat tool helps it dig and hide underground quickly, people began calling it a 'spadefoot'.