This lifeform is found east of the Continental Divide in North America. This lifeform is very common in suitable environments.

American Toad (Bufo americanus) is found from Maine to Minnesota and then south to Georgia. This species appears rare in many  localities but when spring comes huge numbers of them appear at the edges of lakes, rivers, and streams to spawn. The tadpoles grow quickly and by late summer they are already small toads fending for themselves on land. This species can be confused with the Fowlers Toad but the American Toad has only one or two large warts on each spot.

The toad genus (Bufo),  a large genus of over 225 species,  is found almost worldwide except for Madagascar, and except for an area including Australia, the Philippines and New Guinea.  (However, Bufo marinus has been introduced to some of the areas that did not support the genus previously.)   Toads generally have short legs,  rather stocky bodies,  and generally are covered with warts.

Toad family (Family Bufonidae) is a worldwide family of jumping  amphibians that are usually characterized by warts on their skin. They begin life as tadpoles, and quickly leave the water to mature into an animal that feeds on worms, insects, and other small animals. If the Atelopidae are included in this family, the Bufonidae number about 335 species.

Order Anura contains the jumping amphibians such as the frogs and the toads. Chris Mattison in Frogs and Toads of the World gives a very good overview of this group of amphibians. He states that there are 3,445 species in 310 different genera that he believes should fall into 21 different families. The three largest families, in terms of species, are the Ranidae (Typical frogs) with 667 species, the Hylidae (tree frogs) with 630 species, and the Leptodactylidae (small to medium Neotropical frogs) with 710 species. The Bufonidae (true toads) has 335 species.

Amphibians (Class Amphibia) are best known as the frogs, toads, and salamanders. Amphibians begin their life as larvae that live in the water. Some species continue to evolve so that the final forms can breathe air. A typical example, is the  Bullfrog of North America that begins life as a tadpole, and then finally turns into a adult frog. Amphibians usually have a soft, moist skin, and four legs adapted for walking or jumping or  climbing. They have a three-chambered heart which gives them a fairly advanced circulatory system. There are probably about 2,500 species in this class.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.