PHOENIX (AP) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to review a toad that lives in Arizona for inclusion on the federal endangered species list.
The agency announced Tuesday that a petition filed by the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity contained enough scientific information about the Arizona toad’s status to merit the review.
The Arizona toad also inhabits parts of New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and California and lives in shallow permanent flowing waterways. The toad is now found is less than a quarter of its historic range.
Three other animals that live in the southwest are also being considered - the alligator snapping turtle, the Cascade Caverns salamander and the Rio Grande cooter, another type of turtle.
Fish and Wildlife status reviews don’t necessarily lead to listing on the endangered list.
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