A medium-sized, plump, toad that has smooth skin with scattered warts. They have bright golden eyes with vertical pupils. Another distinguishing feature is the black tubercles on its hind feet used for digging its burrows. They also have two wavy, yellow lines that run down their backs. Males have dark throats, and during the breeding season they also have dark growths on two or more of their toes on their front feet.
Females have light throats and are usually fatter than males during the breeding season.
Several scattered sites in eastern parts of the state. Southern New England along the coast to Florida, and throughout the South as far north as Tennessee and as far west as the Mississippi Valley. They can be seen as early as May and as late as late August after heavy rains. Eastern Spadefoot Toads live to be at least five years old. Spadefoot Toads are burrowers, digging up to 2 m into the ground.