(Not to scale;not1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789 all NV species included) FROGS & TOADS OF NEVADA 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789
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How to tell the difference between... 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789
1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789 Eye Stripe Dorsolateral 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678Note: Color varies greatly within species. 9 Frogs 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789
1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789 •Usually have dorsolateral folds fold/ridge 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678DO NOT use color as your main indicator. 9 • Snout 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789 Pointed toes (except for P. regilla) 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789 • 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123 Large typanums (eardrums) 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123 •Long legs 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012NOTE: CHECK NDOW REGULATIONS BEFORE 3 Tympanum Vent 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123 •Leapers (eardrum) 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012MOVING OR COLLECTING ANY AMPHIBIANS 3 • 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123 No paratoid glands 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123
123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012(www.ndow.org). Special permits or licenses may be 3 •Ranids have webbed rear feet Thumb Web 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012required (NRS 504.295, NAC 504.461, NAC 503.135). 3 “Water dwellers with long legs & 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123 slimy skin.” SVL: Snout to Vent Length Northern Leopard Frog--Rana pipiens National Audubon Society Spotted Morph Unspotted (Burnsi) Morph cranial crest Toads Spot style Lip stripe •Plump bodies “Short, squat land- Fold •Short legs lubbers with dry, •Dry, warty skin warty skin.” •Rounded faces Warts Parotoid •Large parotoid glands gland •Hoppers/walkers National Audubon Society Pacific Chorus Frog--Pseudacris regilla Stripe Dave Bradford Distribution: Isolated locations in E. NV and extreme W. NV Size: Medium <3 ½ in. SVL Color: Green, brown, or both. Spotting: Dark, circular spots with halos irregularly placed throughout the body. 1 inch Some rare morphs have NO spots. Spotting: Varies. They usually have Look for: Body: Has two, light-colored dorsal markings (as above) but they may dorsolateral folds (lines of raised glandular 1 inch be absent. skin in an area between the back and the desert to mountain meadow. Distribution: Spotty statewide. Look for:Eye stripe (usually) and toepads. sides), upper lip stripe. Call: Snore-like rattle interspersed with a Size: Small <2 in. SVL Habitat: Wide variety: grasslands, Habitat: Heavily vegetated freshwater to sound like that of rubbing an inflated Color: Varies widely (an individual may chaparral, woodlands, forests, desert oases brackish marshes and moist fields; from balloon. Calls both day and night. change from one color to another); most and farmland; often far from water bodies. Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog--Rana muscosa often green or gray, but also brown or Call: A loud two part “kreck-ek” that is black. Dark stripe running through the high pitched and may be uttered in eye usually. White underbelly. sequence, usually at night. Columbia Spotted Frog--Rana luteiventris
Spot style Fold Fold Spot Style
Roland Knapp 1 inch
1 inch Distribution: N. Sierra Nevada—Rare. Size: Small <3 in. SVL Habitat: Sunny stream banks and Spotting: Irregular-shaped black spots Color: Light to dark-brown. Undersides undisturbed ponds and lakes. Adults with indistinct edges and light centers. range Dave from Bradford a cream color to brilliant highly aquatic; rarely found more than a Photo by Anita Cook few hops from water. Distribution: Mainly in northeastern & Look for: Head: Dorsolateral fold/ridges yellow. Has dusky toe tips. Call: Short and rasping, often rises in central Nevada. usually present. Upturned eyes. Body: Spotting: Black or dark brown splotches. pitch and accelerates at the end. Call is Size: Medium F < 4 in. SVL; Extensive webbing between the toes of *Male frogs can smell strongly of garlic rarely heard. M < 3 in. SVL the hind feet. Relatively short hind legs. during the breeding season. Color: Varies: tan, gray, brown, reddish- Habitat: Mountainous areas near cold Relict Leopard Frog--Rana onca brown, or red. Underside usually yellow. streams and lakes. Dave Bradford Light stripe on the upper jaw. Call: VERY weak; lacks amplifying sacs. Spotless Morph Bullfrog--Rana catesbeiana Male
Roland Knapp
1 inch 1 inch Color: Brown, gray, or greenish above. Spotting: Markings, if any, on dorsal Whitish below, sometimes with gray or surface have no distinct borders. Distribution: Southern Nevada, near brown mottling, especially on throat. Look for: Head: In females the Lake Mead, along Colorado River—Very Spotting: Has brown spots that are often Distribution: Spotty statewide—NON- tympanic membrane is roughly equal to limited. reduced or obscure on front of body and NATIVE. the size of the eye; in males it will be Similar species in NV: Northern Leopard few or absent on the head. Size: Large < 9 in. SVL considerably larger. Body: Little to no Frog, but R. onca usually smaller, with Look for: Body: Indistinct dorsolateral Color: Usually dull green, but may be dorsolateral ridges (smooth back). shorter legs (heel of leg extended along folds end well before groin. brownish; some specimens dark gray to Habitat: Ponds, lakes and slow-moving side of body usually does not reach tip of Habitat: Frequents lowland streamsides black. Underside often ranges from streams with vegetative cover. snout). and springs in areas surrounded by desert. shades of white to yellow. Call: Familiar, deep “jug-o’-rum.” Size: Medium <3 ½ in. SVL. Usually found in or near water. (Not to scale; not123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 all NV species included) FROGS & TOADS OF NEVADA 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678
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Red-Spotted Toad--Bufo punctatus 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678
123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567Note: Color varies greatly within species. 8 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567DO NOT use color as your main indicator. 8 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678
123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 Southwestern Toad--Bufo microscaphus Stripe often dim or absent
1 inch round parotoid glands that are the SAME SIZE AS THE EYES. Habitat: Found in rocky areas, using crevises to hide; desert springs, seeps, and Distribution: Southern Nevada. flood plains of rivers. Size: Small 1 ½-3 in. SVL Call: Long (6-10 secs.), high-pitched Color: Back: ranges from various shades musical trill, which may drop in pitch at of brown to gray with scattered red spots. the end. Higher pitch than call of the Breck Bartholomew John Sullivan No mid-dorsal stripe. Southwestern Toad. Calls mostly at night. Distribution: Southern Nevada. Look for: Head: The ONLY toad with Size: Medium 2-3 in. SVL Great Basin Spadefoot--Spea intermontana Color: Olive to brown to pink, often with Vert.Pupils Spade light stripe/patch on head and back which (unless dilated) may be dim/absent. With or without spots. Look for: Head: No cranial crests; parotoid glands oval and lighter colored in 1 inch front. and arroyos or sandy banks of quiet waters. *Interbreeds with B. woodhousii. Call: Musical trill that ends abruptly after Habitat: Loose gravelly areas of streams 10 sec. 1 inch Great Plains Toad--Bufo cognatus aren’t raised. Look for: Head: Pupils are vertical (not Distribution: Spotty statewide. evident when dilated); eyes are very large, Belly: Size: Small < 2 in. SVL golden yellow, set on side of head. Color: Ash-gray streaks usually set off cream or white – Tympanum small, inconspicuous. Has a no spots gray or olive hourglass marking on back; bump between the eyes. Paratoid glands underside cream or white without indistinct or absent. Body: Rather plump; markings; bumpy skin, but not as “warty” short, stubby limbs. as B. boreas. * Has well developed turbercle (“spade”) Skin: Small bumps, dark brown/reddish; on the bottom of the 1st toe of the hind Joined Ridges also has other spots/patches of color that foot. Western Toad--Bufo boreas Distribution: Southeastern Nevada. Size: Large <4 ½ in. SVL Color: Back: Gray to olive brown. Distinct symmetrically paired dark patches have a white/cream-colored border. Belly: (“boss”). Behind the eyes, the crests meet White or cream with no spots. There is elongate parotoid glands. See above. Light stripe 1 inch little variation in the color pattern except Habitat: Grasslands of the prairie and some specimens having cleaner markings drier bushy areas. Color: Gray to green, usually with light and brighter patches versus dull ones. Call: High-pitched, almost metallic trill. middorsal stripe running down the back. Look for: Head: Cranial crests converge Skin: Warts are set in dark blotches and at snout to form a prominent bump are sometimes a red or rust color. Look for: Head: No cranial crests (raised Amargosa Toad--Bufo nelsoni Distribution: Spotty statewide. ridges between the eyes). Mike Burroughs Size: Large <5 in. SVL Habitat: Near springs, streams, meadows *Metamorphs can be as small as ½ inch, and woodlands. and their middorsal stripe may be very Call: Like weak peeping of baby chicks. faint to non-existent. No vocal sacs. Call rarely heard. Woodhouse’s Toad--Bufo woodhousii 1 inch Broken Skin: Warty, but with smooth skin White cranial crests between the warts. stripe Look for: Head: Snout protracted and Distribution: Found only in Oasis Valley, pointed in profile. No cranial crests. Southern Nevada—Very limited. Body: Webs of hind feet very large; soles Size: Medium Females: <5 in. SVL rather smooth; limbs short, knees and Males: <4 in. elbows not large. Color: Back: buffy to olive with broken cranial crests between eyes that Habitat: Near springs, streams, meadows numerous spots and specks between the touch parotid glands (see diagram). Body: and woodlands. warts. Belly: whitish with scattered black Wide waist (hockey puck appearance); Call: Generally considered absent except blotches (more pronounced in juveniles). short hind legs. for warning chuckles during breeding Throat: white to yellowish. Mid-dorsal *Interbreeds with B. microscaphus. season or gentle peeping release calls from Distribution: Southeastern Nevada. stripe: olive to yellow or white. Size: Large <4 in. SVL Habitat: Sandy areas near marshes, males during handling. irrigation ditches, backyards and Parotoid glands: distinctly colored from Color: Usually grayish or yellow with surroundings. prominent white stripe down back. temporary rain pools. Nevada Dept. of Wildlife Look for: Head: Thick head; rounded Call: Like the bleat of a sheep with a cold. (775) 688-1500 Males call while sitting in quiet water. www.ndow.org snout. Large parotoid glands. Large 4/4/03