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 Official State Amphibian
Adoption of State Amphibian
Back in 1999, when the New Mexico Legislature adopted "The Land of Enchantment" as the official state nickname of New Mexico, a technical error in the processing of the legislation prevented it from being properly entered into the New Mexico Statutes. In House Bill 430 and House Bill 13, mentioned below, the reference to the official state nickname of New Mexico is to correct this technical error made in 1999. Initial promotion of an official state amphibian and state reptile was sponsored by the New Mexico Herpetological Society. At public events sponsored by the society, surveys were conducted enabling visitors to the events to express their preferences for an official amphibian and an official reptile to serve as symbols for New Mexico. The results of these surveys ranked the New Mexico Spadefoot Toad (Spea multiplicata) and the New Mexico Whiptail Lizard (Cnemidophorus neomexicanus) as favored candidates for New Mexico's official state amphibian and official state reptile. Based on these surveys, New Mexico State Representative William "Ed" Boykin introduced House Bill No. 430 in February 2003. This bill proposed that the New Mexico Statutes be amended to include the New Mexico Spadefoot Toad (Spea multiplicata) as the official state amphibian of New Mexico and to include the New Mexico Whiptail Lizard (Cnemidophorus neomexicanus) as the official state reptile of New Mexico. (As already mentioned, this bill also included wording to properly codify "The Land of Enchantment" as the official nickname of New Mexico.) As it turned out, another bill, House Bill 13, had been introduced in January by Representative Gail C. Beam. This bill proposed adoption of the Sandia Hairstreak Butterfly as the official state butterfly of New Mexico and, like House Bill 430, remedied the problem with the official state nickname of New Mexico. Because both bills addressed the problem with the state nickname, passage of each would cause additional technical problems within the statutes. To resolve the issue, the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee amended House Bill 430 to include the Sandia Hairstreak Butterfly in the legislation. In the Senate, the Conservation Committee recommended amending House Bill 13 to include the proposals for an official state reptile and an official state amphibian as well as an official state butterfly and the remedy for the issue regarding the official state nickname. Eventually, House Bill No. 430 was dropped and House Bill No. 13 moved on to be adopted by the New Mexico House of Representatives and the Senate. House Bill No. 13, adopting the New Mexico Spadefoot Toad as the official state amphibian, the New Mexico Whiptail Lizard as the official state reptile and the Sandia Hairstreak Butterfly as the official state butterfly was approved by the New Mexico House of Representatives on February 5, 2003. It was approved by the Senate on March 19, 2003. The bill was signed by Governor Richardson on April 6, 2003. This bill also placed "The Land of Enchantment" in the statutes as the official state nickname of New Mexico. About the New Mexico Spadefoot Toad
The New Mexico Spadefoot Toad is sometimes referred to as the Mexican Spadefoot Toad or the Western Spadefoot Toad. The largest males grow to be about 2 1/2 inches long. They are brown, grayish-green, or dark gray with small spots or sometimes blotches on their backs. Some may have light stripes on their backs and sides. Red-tipped knobs or lumps, called tubercles, are scattered over their backs and heads. New Mexico Spadefoot Toads have large eyes like other spadefoots. They have short horny spurs on the bottom of each hind foot which are used to bury themselves in the ground where they remain for months at a time emerging to breed in temporary rain pools created at the onset of the summer monsoon season. The sound made by Spadefoots sounds like a fingernail running along the teeth of a comb. Some say they give off an odor of peanuts when they are handled. The New Mexico Spadefoot Toad is most often found in floodplains, washes and other lowland habitats, especially where the soil is loose enough for burrowing and deep enough to avoid freezing temperatures. They may make limited use of pinyon-juniper, but mostly occur in non-forested areas. They are active at night. New Mexico Spadefoots are carnivores and they eat a variety of invertebrate prey. Termites, ants, beetles and spiders provide the bulk of their sustenance. New Mexico Statutes & Court RulesThe following information is excerpted from the Statutory Chapters in New Mexico Statutes, Annotated 1978, Chapter 12, Article 3, Section 12-3-4. As structured, the New Mexico Statutes include all symbols in one section of the code.
Additional InformationSpea multiplicata, Mexican Spadefoot: Entry at Caudata Culture, Caudata.org. Spea multiplicata, Mexican Spadefoot: Great close-up photographs from J.D. at the University of Georgia. Frog and Toad Posters and Prints Care and Breeding of Popular Tree Frogs: A Practical Manual for the Serious Hobbyist: by Philippe de Vosjoli, Robert Mailloux, Drew Ready. Frogs, Toads, and Treefrogs: Everything About Selection, Care, Nutrition, Breeding, and Behavior: by R. D. Bartlett, Patricia P. Bartlett. Frogs and Toads : An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet: by Steve Grenard. Source: New Mexico Statutes and Court Rules Unannotated, (http://www.conwaygreene.com/NewMexico.htm), January 6, 2005
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Frog and Toad Posters and prints from AllPosters.com.