SYSTEMATICS OF THE BUFO-WOODHOUSII COMPLEX (ANURA, BUFONIDAE) - ADVERTISEMENT CALL VARIATION

To determine whether Bufo fowleri, Bufo woodhousii woodhousii, and Buf o woodhousii australis are diagnosable taxa, we examined variation in advertisement calls and body size across the range of the Bufo woodhou sii complex, Calls were recorded and toads measured in six regions con sisting of California, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Nebraska and Iowa, and Ne w Jersey. Pulse rate and call duration, but not frequency, were signif icantly related to temperature. Dominant frequency was the only call v ariable of the three analyzed that correlated with snout-vent length. When adjusted for temperature and size effects, calls of B. fowleri ha d a shorter duration and higher dominant frequency than the other two members of the B. woodhousii complex. Discriminant analysis using call variables and body size provided clear separation of B. fowleri from B. w. woodhousii and B. w. australis. Univariate and multivariate anal yses revealed that toads from southern California were most similar to toads from south-central Arizona currently recognized as B. ut. austr alis. We conclude that B. fowleri should be recognized as a species. C ontinued recognition of B. w. australis and B. w. woodhousii as wester n forms of the B. woodhousii complex is reasonable.