spadefoot

American  

[speyd-foot] / ˈspeɪdˌfʊt /

noun

plural

spadefoots

1. spadefoot toad.

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Etymology

Origin of spadefoot

First recorded in 1835–45; spade ¹ + foot

Example Sentences

Under the right conditions, the spadefoot tadpole will transform into a voracious predator of its own species.

From Scientific American • Oct. 30, 2023

They include the black bear, Western scrub jay, California flannel brush, California bumble bee, California halibut, Northern elephant seal, Dungeness crab, California bay tree, Western spadefoot toad, and the endangered black abalone.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2023

Desert spadefoot tadpoles responded more strongly to the shrimp-only diet, exhibiting dramatic changes in gut and head shape and behavior.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 28, 2018

Examples of animal cannibalism are as numerous as they are interesting, from spadefoot toad larvae who eat their own brood-mates to legless amphibians called caecilians whose hatchlings peel and consume their mothers’ skin.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2017

The spadefoot toads and turtles and slithering creatures, the chattering of black insects.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead