---
title: "Mexican Spadefoot"
description: "Spea multiplicata — Amphibians. The New Mexico spadefoot toad (Spea multiplicata) is a species of American spadefoot toad found in the southwestern United States and Mexico."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/mexican-spadefoot
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Mexican Spadefoot

> Spea multiplicata — Amphibians. The New Mexico spadefoot toad (Spea multiplicata) is a species of American spadefoot toad found in the southwestern United States and Mexico.

- Scientific name: *Spea multiplicata*
- Category: `amphibians` (Amphibians)
- Habitats: `desert` (Desert)
- iNaturalist observations: 4120
- Wikidata: [Q2274578](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2274578)
- iNaturalist taxon: [26698](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/26698)

## Names

- en: Mexican Spadefoot
- de: Gebirgsschaufelfuß
- es: Sapo montícola de espuela
- nl: New Mexico spadefoot toad

## Countries with the most observations

US (2082), MX (969)

## Summary

The New Mexico spadefoot toad (Spea multiplicata) is a species of American spadefoot toad found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Like other species of spadefoot toad, they get their name from a distinctive spade-like projections on their hind legs, which enable them to dig in sandy soils. Spea multiplicata can be identified by its wedge-shaped spade. Some sources also refer to the species as the Mexican spadefoot toad, desert spadefoot toad or southern spadefoot toad.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_spadefoot_toad

## Photo

![Mexican Spadefoot](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/mexican-spadefoot/medium.jpg)

Photo: William · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/310821239

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/mexican-spadefoot?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).