9r;j HANDBOOK OF FROGS AND TOADS The Frogs and Toads of the United States and Canada By ANNA ALLEN WRIGHT ALBERT HAZEN WRIGHT Professor of Zoology, Cornell University Ithaca, New York The Comstock Publishing Co., Inc. 1933 COPYRIGHT, 1933. BY THE COMSTOCK PUBLISHING CO., Inc. printed in the united states of america The Cayuga Press ithaca, n.y. €§23 This little volume, meant to serve the public, the scientist, and the group treated, is dedicated to the four American women who, in addition to serving the public and science generously, have in the last half-century contributed most nota- bly to the study of this group: Mary Hewes Hinckley, 1845- Mary Cynthia Dickerson, 1 866-1 923 Helen Dean King, 1869— Helen Thompson Gaige, Preface In 1930, while preparing a monograph and also an illustrated key of North American frogs, we resolved on a small book as a guide for teachers, students, and even younger naturalists. Of each species, there is a plate of photographs from life and a two-page resume of its characters and habits. The plates and script are meant to cultivate an interest in the lay mind and help the beginner in his or her quests. Several species which since 1930 have appeared in the United States or Canada, we have been unable to illustrate, e.g., Bufo americanus copei. We have, however, attempted to illustrate all subspecies whether they be on slender or firm grounds. Pictures from life of many of these debatable forms have never been presented before. Even though it may eventually prove there is one meadow frog, yet the four forms are presented; even though only one or two forms of Pseudacris nigrita may be good, yet all five subspecies appear herein. The pictures from life may help to stimulate an elucidation of some of these moot questions in our knowledge. The photographs are largely new and not from our previous pub- lications, and are the work of the authors. In the species accounts there occasionally appears a croaker, a tadpole or an egg photograph formerly used in the Frogs of the Okefinokee Swamp. Such pictures were taken by F. Harper and the authors. Many of the frogs were photographed in a jar of water and the water line is evident on the fore part of the body or on either side of the head. While this work was going through the press, the third edition ( T 933) of Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles by L. Stejneger andT. Barbour appeared. The Check List indicates that the range of Hyla graciiipes extends from southern Arizona south- ward. We overlooked this statement in Dr. Kellogg's (1932) paper and this species does not appear in this work. Contents Preface viii Contents ix General account i Common names i Scientific name 2 Range 3 Habitat 3 Size 3 General appearance 4 Structure 4 Voice 5 Breeding 7 Eggs . , 7 Tadpoles 9 Development and transformation n Notes 1.2 Keys 13 Accounts of species (with a plate of each species) .... 36 Bell toads 3 6 American bell toad. Ascaphus truei 36 Spadefoots 38 Couch's spadefoot. Scaphiopus couchii 38 Hammond's spadefoot. Scaphiopus hammondii ... 40 Holbrook's spadefoot. Scaphiopus holbrookii holbrookii . 42 Key West spadefoot. Scaphiopus holbrookii a/bus (no plate) . 43 Hurter's spadefoot. Scaphiopus holbrookii hurterii (no plate) " 44 Toads 4^ Colorado River toad. Bufo alvarius 46 American toad. Bufo americanus americanus .... 48 Hudson Bay American toad. Bufo americanus copei (no plate) 49 Northwestern toad. Bufo boreas boreas 50 California toad. Bufo boreas halophilus 52 Southern California toad. Bufo californicus .... 54 Yosemite toad. Bufo canorus 56 Great Plains toad. Bufo cognatus 58 ix 1 2 4 2 i Spadefoot toad. Bufo compactilis 60 Little green toad. Bufo debilis 62 Fowler's toad. Buf fowler 64 Canadian toad. Bufo hemiophrys 66 Marine toad. Bufo marinus 68 Canyon toad. Bufo punctatus 70 Oak toad. Bufo quercicus 72 Southern toad. Bufo terrestris 74 Mexican toad. Bufo valliceps 76 Rocky Mountain toad. Bufo woodhousii 78 Cricket-frogs 80 Cricket-frog. Acris gryllus 80 Cricket-frog. Acris crepitans (no plate) 82 Chorus frogs 84 Chorus frog. Pseudacris brachyphona 84 Swamp chorus frog. Pseudacris nigrita nigrita ... 86 Clarke's striped tree frog. Pseudacris nigrita clarkii . 88 Eastern swamp cricket frog. Pseudacris nigritaferiarum . 90 Northern striped tree frog. Pseudacris nigrita septen- trionalis 92 Three striped tree frog. Pseudacris nigrita triseriata . 94 Western chorus frog. Pseudacris occidentalis (no plate) . 96 Little chorus frog. Pseudacris ocularis 98 Ornate chorus frog. Pseudacris ornata 100 Texas ornate chorus frog. Pseudacris streckeri 102 Tree frogs 104 Anderson's tree frog. Hyla andersonii 104 Canyon tree frog. Hyla arenicolor 106 Whistling tree frog. Hyla avivoca 108 Mexican tree frog. Hyla baudinii baudinii . no Green tree frog. Hyla cinerea cinerea 112 Miller's tree frog. Hyla cinerea evittata 114 Spring peeper. Hyla crucifer 116 Sonora tree frog. Hyla eximia 118 Piney woods tree frog. Hyla femoralis 120 Florida tree frog. Hyla gratiosa 122 Pacific tree frog. Hyla regilla 124 Giant tree frog. Hyla septentrionalis 126 Squirrel tree frog. Hyla squirella 128 Common tree toad. Hyla versicolor versicolor . 130 Cope's tree frog. Hyla versicolor chrysoscelis . 132 Dusky tree toad. Hyla versicolor phaeocrypta (no plate) . 134 Robber frogs 136 Mexican cliff frog. Eleutherodactylus augusti . 136 Texas cliff frog. Eleutherodactylus latrans 138 Ricord's frog. Eleutherodactylus ricordii 140 i White-lipped frog. Leptodactylus albilabris . 142 Camp's frog. Syrrhophus campi 144 Marnock's frog. Syrrhophus marnockii 146 True frogs 148 Gopher frog. Rana aesopus 148 Northern gopher frog. Rana areolata 150 Oregon red-legged frog. Rana aurora aurora . 152 California red-legged frog. Rana aurora draytonii . 154 California yellow-legged frog. Rana boylii boylit . 156 Sierra Madre yellow-legged frog. Rana boyHi muscosa . 158 Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog. Rana boylii sierrae . 160 Northern wood frog. Rana cantabrigensis 162 Bull frog. Rana catesbeiana 164 Green frog. Rana clamitans 166 Southern bull frog. Rana grylio 168 River-swamp frog. Rana heckscheri 170 Nevada frog. Rana onca 172 Pickerel frog. Rana palustris 174 Meadow frog. Rana pipiens pipiens . ... 176 Unspotted meadow frog. Rana pipiens burns . 178 Mottled meadow frog. Rana pipiens kandiyohi . 180 Western spotted frog. Rana pretiosa pretiosa . 182 Nevada spotted frog. Rana pretiosa luteiventris (no plate) 183 Mink frog. Rana septentrionalis 184 Southern meadow frog. Rana sphenocephala . 186 Wood frog. Rana sylvatica 188 Mexican frog. Rana tarahumarae 190 Carpenter frog. Rana virgatipes 192 Narrow-mouthed toads 194 Carolina narrow-mouthed toad. Gastrophryne carolinensis 1 94 Texas narrow-mouthed toad. Gastrophryne texen sis . 196 Mitchell's narrow-mouthed toad. Gastrophryne areolata (no plate) 198 Taylor's toad. Hypopachus cuneus 200 Bibliography 203 Index ^ 219 XI General Account^ In the treatment of each species, the topical outline is as follows: Common names General appearance Scientific name Structure Range Voice Habitat Breeding Size Notes Common names. We of the United States and Canada have con- cerned ourselves little with distinctive names for the amphibians. Most of the common names of the salamanders and frogs are col- lective. Just as all salamanders are generally called water dogs or lizards, so also the frogs are known by few common names, (toads, frogs or tree frogs). For example, people use the word "peeper" in- discriminately for several small frogs that call in the early spring. Others call peepers lizards. Normally we expect common names to come from the people at large, but with amphibians and reptiles, most of the common names in literature are really bookish names. Many are translations of the scientific names. The names may come from widely different sources of which the following are a few: (i) The person after whom the species is named. Example: Couch's spadefoot. Scaphiopus couchii Baird. (2) The person who named the species. Example: Viosca's tree frog. Hyla avivoca Viosca. (3) The person who first collected it. Example: Taylor's toad. Hypopachus cuneus Cope. (4) A country. Examples: Canadian toad, American bell toad, Mexican toad. (5) A state or province. Examples: Sonora hyla, Winnipeg toad, California red-legged frog. (6) Habitats. Examples: River-swamp frog, pond frog, house frog, salt marsh frog, canyon tree toad, desert tree toad, crayfish frog, gopher frog, wood frog, savanna cricket, cliff frog. (7) Habits. Examples: Chameleon tree frog, solitary spadefoot, grasshopper frog. (8) Structural characters. Examples: Ribbed toad, narrow- mouthed toad, toothless frog, femoral hyla, thick skinned frog. (9) Voice. Examples: Bell frog, screaming frog, pig frog, rattler, chorus frog, cricket frog. (10) Color. Examples: Three lined tree frog, striped tree frogs, ornate tree frog, green toad, cinereous hyla. (n) Seasons. Examples: Spring peeper, shad frog. (12) Miscellaneous sources of many kinds: Folklore. Example: Charming toad. Legend says this toad, B. terrestris, turns your eye green. Use (bait). Example: Pickerel frog. Weather signs. Example: Rain frog. Odor. Example: Mink frog. Scientific name. Any consideration of the scientific name which an animal bears implies an understanding of the scheme of classification. All living things fall into two groups or kingdoms. The plants are treated in the science of Botany, the animals in Zoology. The animal kingdom has several major subdivisions or phyla, the last being the Vertebrata (vertebrates). In the vertebrate phylum, the various classes are known as fishes (Pisces), amphibians (Amphibia), reptiles (Reptilia), birds (Aves) and mammals (Mammalia). We designate the study of fishes as Ichthyology, that of birds, Ornithology, that of mammals, Mammalogy, but we group together amphibians and reptiles as the science of Herpetology. This merging of the two groups is in a measure due to our inability to designate infallible characters of separation. A fish has fins, a bird, feathers, a mammal, hair, but reptiles and amphibians have no one positively distinctive character.