Eastern Spadefoot
Pelobates syriacus
A burrowing amphibian with a vertical pupil and a large hind-foot spade. Confirmed in dry eastern Georgia; harmless to people.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Size
about 6–9 cm
Habitat
dry steppe, fishless pond
Activity
Nocturnal
Status in Georgia
Confirmed
Human risk
Family
Pelobatidae
Conservation
EN (Georgia) / LC
Human interaction: It is not venomous in the snake sense, and a bite is not a medical emergency. Like other amphibians it has skin mucus; irritating secretions are better documented in P. fuscus within the same genus — do not handle it. If you touch one by accident, wash your hands and keep them away from your eyes. Photograph from a distance and leave it in place.
Overview
What is Eastern Spadefoot
The eastern spadefoot (Pelobates syriacus) is a burrowing amphibian of dry eastern Georgia and is harmless to people. It belongs to Pelobatidae — not a true toad and not a marsh frog. Adult body length is usually about 6–9 cm at species level. Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 treat it as biologically confirmed in Georgia. Globally it is Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (2021). On Georgia’s 2014 Red List it is EN A2a (declining in Georgia). Do not expect it in humid western Colchis. Boettger described it in 1889; the type locality is Haifa, not Georgia. English names include eastern spadefoot and Syrian spadefoot. After the 2019 genus revision, Balkan populations are usually treated as Pelobates balcanicus; COI divergence between Georgia and the Balkans exceeds 10%. Georgian populations are tentatively assigned to P. s. boettgeri by region (Dufresnes et al. 2019; Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026). The closest relative, P. fuscus, does not occur in Georgia.
Last updated
Identification
How to identify Eastern Spadefoot
A stocky, short-legged amphibian with a vertical pupil, relatively smooth skin, and a large yellowish digging spade on the hind foot. Georgia’s only Pelobates.
The body is robust, the head large and flat, the hind legs short. The pupil is a vertical slit. The eardrum is not visible. The skin is relatively smooth with small warts — not a true toad’s rough skin. The hind toes have deeply indented webbing. The key mark is the inner metatarsal tubercle: large, spade-shaped, yellowish — used for digging. The back is yellowish or grey with large greenish blotches; the belly is whitish-grey without a pattern. Adult body length is often about 6–9 cm at species level (Dufresnes et al. 2019, P. s. boettgeri: females mean 68 mm, range 40–92 mm; males mean 69 mm, 57–83 mm). A separately measured Georgian series is not on this page. The sexes are similar in size; in the breeding season the male’s shoulder gland is more prominent.
Tadpoles are among the largest of any amphibian; literature maxima reach about 165 mm. In Georgia they are already large and easy to see in fishless ponds in June. After metamorphosis, toadlets often bury themselves in pond-shore mud. In some water bodies tadpoles overwinter and finish the next year — that is a species-level possibility, not a rule for every Georgian pond. Do not pick it up: pupil, body shape, and the spade if visible are enough.
The Caucasian parsley frog (Pelodytes caucasicus) is smaller and slimmer, with a small rounded inner tubercle; Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 tie it to humid western Caucasian forest, not dry eastern steppe. Green toad (Bufotes viridis) and Caucasian toad (Bufo verrucosissimus) have horizontal pupils and large parotoid glands; the skin is warty. Marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) and Caucasian brown frog (Rana macrocnemis) have horizontal pupils and dorsolateral folds; marsh frogs often share ponds but stay aquatic. Tree frogs (Hyla) are green with toe pads. The common spadefoot (P. fuscus) does not occur in Georgia.
It is not venomous. A stocky “toad-like” amphibian with a vertical pupil and a large hind-foot spade, seen at night in dry eastern country, fits this species better than a true toad. Very large tadpoles in a fishless pond in June also point to a spadefoot. Do not handle it.
Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 treat it as biologically confirmed in Georgia. It is Georgia’s only Pelobates. Do not expect it in humid western Colchis. The common spadefoot (P. fuscus) does not occur in Georgia. The Caucasian parsley frog (Pelodytes caucasicus) is smaller and slimmer and is tied to humid western Caucasian forest, not dry eastern steppe.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
In Georgia you are most likely to meet it in dry or semi-arid steppe and shrubland of the east, and sometimes in human-altered land, where fishless ponds, pools, or canal widenings hold water in spring. Tarkhnishvili, Serbinova and Gavashelishvili (2009) mapped tadpoles in 88 ponds in south-eastern Georgia in 2003–2008. The range roughly matches semi-arid landscapes; Gori is given as a western reference. It is usually absent from forest, though a few breeding sites sit at forest edges. In that study the species did not occur where annual rainfall exceeded 760 mm. The 2026 checklist barcode is from Chachuna (Kakheti); the figure locality is Tbilisi. Tarkhnishvili (1996) listed Turtle Lake near Tbilisi (Delwig 1928), lakes Kumisi and Chili-Tba, Tsodoreti and Akhaldaba lakes, the Tbilisi– Rustavi stretch, and a fossil from the lower Khrami; the Manglisi record needs checking because the landscape is more humid than typical. Some 1996 sites may no longer exist — that does not cancel the 2000s pond map. It is not expected in the Black Sea basin of the Caucasus or the forest belt of the Greater Caucasus. Caucasus literature sometimes cites about 0–1900 m; a separate elevational range for Georgia is not published here. This atlas map shows regional records and does not mean the species is evenly present in every highlighted region.
Diet
No Georgian stomach-content study is cited on this page. At species level, adults take molluscs, myriapods, spiders, orthopterans and other small invertebrates on land (AmphibiaWeb). Tadpoles eat mainly algae and plant debris in water. Do not treat it as biological control of garden pests.
Behavior
It is mainly nocturnal and spends the day underground. It digs with the large yellowish inner metatarsal tubercle (the “spade”) and also uses rodent burrows and spaces under stones. AmphibiaWeb notes possible aestivation in hot dry weather; drought in the Caucasus has been linked to mass mortality. Hibernation is in soil, among roots, or under rocks, usually singly, rarely in groups of 2–6. In Georgia breeding is early and short: late March to early April, about two weeks, according to the 2009 study. If a pond is dry then, the season is lost — marsh frogs and green toads can still breed later. Tadpoles are large; they are easy to see in early June (body length already over about 4–6 cm) and metamorphose in late June or early July. Eggs need about 2.5–3 months to metamorphosis, so ponds must hold water from March to July. In Georgia they avoid ponds with fish. AmphibiaWeb gives about 5500–6500 eggs per clutch at species level; a Georgian clutch size is not published here. Males lack external vocal sacs. Do not catch wild amphibians.
Conservation
IUCN Red List Least Concern (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group 2021) — this assessment follows the taxonomic split and does not treat Balkan P. balcanicus as the same unit as older combined concepts. A 2024 update exists for the same taxon; this page still treats the global status as LC. Georgia’s 2014 Red List lists EN A2a (“declining in Georgia”) — the national status is stricter than the global one. In the 1990s Georgian populations were considered threatened and some localities may have been lost; the 2003–2008 map showed more breeding ponds in the south-east than the eight 1996 points implied. Documented pressures are loss or drying of breeding ponds, stocking with fish, drought, and land-use change. Breeding sites are scarce: in the 2009 dataset P. syriacus used under 5% of ponds used by marsh frogs and green toads. It is not listed on CITES. Do not take wild amphibians.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Eastern Spadefoot.
Yes. Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 list it as biologically confirmed and present in eastern Georgia.
In dry and semi-arid eastern landscapes, at fishless ponds. Named points include Chachuna, Tbilisi, and 88 ponds mapped in 2003–2008 in the south-east, with Gori as a western reference. Do not expect it in Colchis forest.
A stocky, short-legged amphibian with a vertical pupil, relatively smooth skin, and a large yellowish spade on the hind foot. It lacks toad parotoids and the horizontal pupil of marsh frogs.
Adults are usually about 6–9 cm in body length at species level. Tadpoles can be much longer. A separately measured Georgian series is not on this page.
No. It is not venomous in the snake sense. The skin produces mucus; do not handle it.
Adults take small terrestrial invertebrates. Tadpoles eat algae and plant debris. No Georgian diet study is cited here.
Mainly at night; by day it is underground. In Georgia breeding is late March to early April, about two weeks. Tadpoles are easy to see in June; metamorphosis is late June or early July.
On Georgia’s Red List it is EN A2a. Globally it is Least Concern (2021). Do not take wild amphibians.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Tarkhnishvili, Serbinova & Gavashelishvili 2009 — Modelling the range of Pelobates syriacus
- Tarkhnishvili 1996 — Distribution and ecology of amphibians of Georgia and the Caucasus
- Tarkhnishvili & Gokhelashvili 1999 — The amphibians of the Caucasus
- Dufresnes et al. 2019 — Taxonomy and distribution of Pelobates
- AmphibiaWeb — Pelobates syriacus
- Amphibian Species of the World — Pelobates syriacus
- IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group 2021 — Pelobates syriacus
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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