Each inch of string holds 17 to 25 eggs. The fertilized eggs soon develop into tadpoles, and the large-headed polliwogs filter feed upon decaying plant matter. Removal of this material increases the amount of oxygen in the water and prolongs the life of the pond. Continuing the life cycle, hind legs grow on the tadpole. Then the front legs grow under the skin and burst through.
Lungs replace the gills, and finally, the tail is absorbed and the adult stage begins.
Only at the adult stage can toads live without water. Desiccation at any previous stage proves fatal. For 4 more years this Woodhouse's Toad will bellow like a screaming calf in the twilight of the Spring evening. I will seek him out to remind myself of the mysteries of ancient cycles. Range Occurs in the Intermountain West and Central states of North America into Northern Mexico and from the Atlantic Coast westward.