Verterbrate Natural History Amphibian exam

species ID

Gastrophryne carolinensis

•Eastern Narrow-Mouthed Toad

•They lack parotoid glands, warts, and webs between the toes, which sets them apart from other species.

Spea Holbrooki Holbrooki

Eastern spadefoot toad

4-6 cm

light yellow line running from each eye down back

Anaxyrus Americanus

American toad

5-9 cm

chest usually has dark spots

only 1-2 warts on dark spots on legs

cranial crests are usually separated from parotoid glands

Anaxryus fowleri

fowler’s toad

3-4 large warts on dark spots on back of legs

cranial crests touch parotoid glands

Hyla Versicolor

gray tree frog

tetraploid

more northern

slower lower pitched trill

Hyla Chrysocelis

Copes gray treefrog

diploid

more southern

faster, harsher call

Pseudacris feriarum

upland chorus frog

2.5-3 cm

light line along upper lip

three dark stripes along back

dark mark is present between eyes

Pseudacris Crucifer

spring peeper

2-3.5 cm

cream-tan with darker x along back

Acris Crepitans

1.5-2.5 cm

gray, green, or brick red with dark markings on back

very pointed nose

webbing covers all of the first and more than half of the longest toe

Lithobates catesbeianus

bullfrog

8.5-20 cm

green to brown

dorsolateral fold extends around tympanum but not onto back

tympanum is larger than eye in males and the same size in females

Lithobates Clamitans melanota

green frog

5.5-9 cm

uniformly green to brown

dorsolateral folds extend down back

male has a tympanum twice the size of the eye

Lithobates Palustris

pickerel frog

4.5-7.5 cm

large dorsolateral folds and square markings along back

Lithobates Sphenocephala

southern leopard frog

round markings on black

white dot in center of tympanum

Lithobates sylvatica

wood frog

3.5-7 cm

dark mast through eyes

venter is light with dark spot on either side of chest

roam far from water

cryptobranchus alleganiensis

hellbender

ambystoma maculatum

spotted salamander

15-25 cm

ambystoma opacum

marbled salamander

9-13 cm

black with white bands

male’s bands tend to be more white

female’s tend to be more gray

ambystoma talpoideum

mole salamander

8-12 cm

head is too big for body

gray with small blue to white flecks

Ambystoma Jeffersonianum

jefferson salamander

11-22 cm

black with bluish flecks

toes are elongated

head is smaller than other ambystoma

tail is laterally compressed

Notophthalamus viridescens

red-spotted newt

6-14 cm

green back with yellow belly

red spots along side

Desmognathus Fuscus Fuscus

Norhtern Dusky salamander

6-14 cm

many color variations

belly is light with dark peppering

tail is keeled and laterally compressed

Desmognathus planiceps

Virginia dusky salamander

morphologically identical to dusky salamander

restricted to a few counties in VA and NC

Desmognathus Monticola

Seal Salamander

8-15 cm

usually gray sometimes brown

have a line behind eye

may have white spots along side

have a head up posture

Desmognathus quadramaculatus

black bellied salamander

large

dark back, black belly, short keeled tail

two rows of white spots on each side of body between legs

Desmognathus Ochrophaeus

small

extremely varied in morphology

round tail accounts for half of total length

may have chevron like marks down side

relatively straight dorsolateral stripe

Plethodon cylindraceous

white spotted slimy salamander

large

black with white spots over body

Plethodon cinereus

red backed salamander

small

black with red/orange dorsal stripe

in central VA stripe may be lemon yellow

lead back phase is solid black with black/white mottling

Plethodon hubrichti

peaks of otter salamander

medium size

black with dorsal flecks of gold

endemic to peaks of otter

Plethodon hoffmani

valley and ridge salamander

medium

dark often with gold dorsal flecks

small legs long tail

belly is dark with white mottling

Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus

northern spring salamander

large pink to orange with small black flecks

thin dark and light line from eye to nostril

Pseudotrition ruber ruber

northern red salamander

large

bright red old adults may turn purple

smaller black spots on back

lags lines on face

Pseudotriton montanus

large

orange to red

has few black spots

brown eye and short snout

Hemidactylum scutatum

four-toed salamander

only has four toes on hind feet

Eurycea bislineata

northern two lined salamander

small

yellowish

has two black stripes down sides

Eurycea cirrigera

southern two lined salamander

stripes extend more than half way down tail

Eurycea guttolineata

three lined salamander

large

one black stripe flanked by two yellow stripes

long tail

Eurycea longicauda longicauda

Long tailed salamander

large

yellow to orange with black spots

very long tail whit a series of vertical black bars

Eurycea lucifuga

cave salamander

large

orange with black spots

tail is shorter and lacks vertical bars

lives in caves