[6] Similar to other burrowing frogs, American spadefoot toads are about 2-3 inches in length with round, stocky bodies and eyes that bulge from their heads.

The eastern spadefoot is the only species found east of the Mississippi River, ranging from New England to southern Florida.

The toads are believed to have moved into North America from South American countries due to a changing climate.

After multiple experiments, Paul Székely, Marian Tudor, and Dan Cogalniceanu concluded that tadpole development is influenced by hydroperiod, or the period in which an area is full of water.

[9] Researchers have concluded that this is an adaptive trait because it accelerates the rate of growth of the tadpoles by allowing for an increased caloric intake.

One possibility for their low population size could be that breeding pools and ponds "often dry up before the tadpoles get to complete metamorphosis"(Naish, 2015[13]) So far, conservation efforts have affected the prevention of the species habitat loss.

In 2012, a couple learned that 32 acres of a property they planned to subdivide and break ground on could potentially be spadefoot habitat.

So as per a species action plan put forth by Berks County conservancy and its partners, the couple would now need to seek state approval, and "hire someone familiar with the eastern spadefoot toad to survey the tract for signs of its habitat".

[14] The Natural Diversity Section of the State of Pennsylvania published a 2011 species action plan[15] for the Eastern Spadefoot toad.

This plan identifies the following counties for populations: Adams, Berks, Bucks, Centre, Cumberland, Franklin, Lehigh, Northampton, Northumberland, Union, and York.

In 2004, the western spadefoot toad was the only member of the family Scaphiopodidae to be classified as near threatened by the ICUN Red List.