List of amphibians of Pennsylvania
This is a list of amphibians of Pennsylvania as listed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.[1] Notes on ranges provided by Pennsylvania Amphibian & Reptile Survey.[2] Pennsylvania has 41 native species of amphibians, with 23 salamanders & newts and 18 species of frog & toad. Of these species, thirteen are of special concern, two are threatened, six are endangered, and one species is extirpated.
Caudata - Newts & Salamanders
[edit]Family: Cryptobranchidae - Giant Salamanders
| Photo | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Eastern Hellbender | Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis (Daudin, 1803) | Species of Special Concern | Nominate subspecies | Northern and western counties, scattered records through south-central counties |
Family: Proteidae - Mudpuppies
| Photo | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Common Mudpuppy | Necturus maculosus maculosus (Rafinesque, 1818) | Species of Special Concern | Nominate subspecies | Western counties |
Family: Ambystomatidae - Mole Salamanders
| Photo | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Jefferson Salamander | Ambystoma jeffersonianum (Green, 1827) | Species of Special Concern | Females of this species can form a unisexual form that cannot be identified to species level without DNA testing[3] | Statewide, seemingly absent from near Philadelphia and the surrounding counties |
|
Blue-spotted Salamander | Ambystoma laterale Hallowell, 1856 | Endangered | Females of this species can form a unisexual form that cannot be identified to species level without DNA testing[3] | Allegheny National Forest and surrounding areas; also a single record from Crawford County[4] and Northampton County[2] |
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Spotted Salamander | Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw, 1802) | Abundant | Statewide | |
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Marbled Salamander | Ambystoma opacum (Gravenhorst, 1807) | Species of Special Concern | Primarily southeastern counties, extends into central counties, scattered records in eastern counties | |
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Tiger Salamander | Ambystoma tigrinum (Green, 1825) | Extirpated[5] | Females of this species can form a unisexual form that cannot be identified to species level without DNA testing[3] | Formerly known from Allegheny County and Cumberland County, has not been recorded in over a century |
Family: Salamandridae - Newts
| Photo | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Red-spotted Newt | Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens (Rafinesque, 1820) | Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide |
Family: Plethodontidae - Lungless Salamanders
| Photo | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Green Salamander | Aneides aeneus (Cope & Packard, 1881) | Threatened | Fayette County | |
|
Northern Dusky Salamander | Desmognathus fuscus (Rafinesque, 1820) | Abundant | Statewide | |
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Seal Salamander | Desmognathus monticola Dunn, 1916 | Species of Special Concern | Southwestern counties | |
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Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander | Desmognathus ochrophaeus Cope, 1859 | Abundant | Statewide except southeast and some central counties | |
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Northern Two-lined Salamander | Eurycea bislineata (Green, 1818) | Abundant | Statewide | |
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Eastern Long-tailed Salamander | Eurycea longicauda longicauda (Green, 1818) | Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide, but notably absent from Wayne County & Erie County |
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Northern Spring Salamander | Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus (Green, 1827) | Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide except southeast |
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Four-toed Salamander | Hemidactylium scutatum (Tschudi, 1838) | Abundant | Statewide | |
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Eastern Red-backed Salamander | Plethodon cinereus (Green, 1818) | Abundant | Statewide | |
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Northern Ravine Salamander | Plethodon electromorphus Highton, 1999 | Species of Special Concern | Southwestern counties | |
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Northern Slimy Salamander | Plethodon glutinosus (Green, 1818) | Abundant | Statewide | |
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Valley and Ridge Salamander | Plethodon hoffmani Highton, 1972 | Species of Special Concern | Central and south-central counties | |
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Wehrle's Salamander | Plethodon wehrlei Fowler and Dunn, 1917 | Abundant | North-central and west-central counties | |
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Eastern Mud Salamander | Pseudotriton montanus montanus Baird, 1850 | Endangered | Nominate subspecies | Franklin County and Cumberland County |
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Northern Red Salamander | Pseudotriton ruber ruber (Latreille, 1801) | Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide |
Anura - Frogs & Toads
[edit]Family: Scaphiopodidae - American Spadefoots
| Photo | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Eastern Spadefoot | Scaphiopus holbrookii (Harlan, 1835) | Threatened | Central, south-central, and southeastern counties |
Family: Bufonidae - True Toads
| Photo | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Eastern American Toad | Anaxyrus americanus americanus (Holbrook, 1836) | Abundant | Statewide | |
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Fowler's Toad | Anaxyrus fowleri (Hinckley, 1882) | Species of Special Concern | Primarily eastern, with some scattered central & western observations and a notable population on Presque Isle State Park in Erie County[6] |
Family: Hylidae - Tree Frogs
| Photo | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Northern Cricket Frog | Acris crepitans Baird, 1854 | Endangered | If subspecies are recognized, it would be the nominate subspecies Acris crepitans crepitans | Southeastern and south-central, and Luzerne County | |
|
Cope's Gray Treefrog | Hyla chrysoscelis Cope, 1880 | Species of Special Concern | Usually indistinguishable from Hyla versicolor without DNA analysis or analysis of mating call[7] | Southeastern and southwestern counties | |
|
Gray Treefrog | Hyla versicolor Le Conte, 1825 | Abundant | Usually indistinguishable from Hyla chrysoscelis without DNA analysis or analysis of mating call[7] | Statewide, less common in southwestern counties | |
|
Mountain Chorus Frog | Pseudacris brachyphona (Cope, 1889) | Species of Special Concern | Southwestern counties | ||
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Spring Peeper | Pseudacris crucifer (Wied-Neuwied, 1838) | Abundant | Statewide | ||
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Upland Chorus Frog | Pseudacris feriarum Baird, 1854 | Species of Special Concern | Central and south-central | ||
| New Jersey Chorus Frog | Pseudacris kalmi Harper, 1855 | Endangered | Bucks County and Montgomery County | |||
|
Western Chorus Frog | Pseudacris triseriata Wied-Neuwied, 1838 | Species of Special Concern | Not officially seen in Pennsylvania since 1958[2] | Western counties |
Family: Ranidae - True Frogs
| Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
American Bullfrog | Lithobates catesbeianus (Shaw, 1802) | Abundant | Statewide | |
|
Green Frog | Lithobates clamitans (Rafinesque, 1820) | Abundant | If subspecies are recognized, the PA subspecies would be Lithobates clamitans melanota | Statewide |
|
Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog | Lithobates kauffeldi (Feinberg et al., 2014) | Endangered | Bucks County, Philadelphia County, and Delaware County | |
|
Pickerel Frog | Lithobates palustris (Le Conte, 1825) | Abundant | Statewide | |
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Northern Leopard Frog | Lithobates pipiens (von Schreber, 1782)) | Species of Special Concern | Scattered reports across the state, but more common to the west and especially the northwest, and also around Northumberland County | |
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Coastal Plains Leopard Frog | Lithobates sphenocephalus utricularius (Harlan, 1826) | Endangered | Southeasternmost counties | |
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Wood Frog | Lithobates sylvaticus (Le Conte, 1825) | Abundant | Statewide |
Nonnative species
[edit]Several species of frog have been introduced to Pennsylvania, mostly around the Philadelphia area.
- Cuban Tree Frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) - recorded between Philadelphia and Greencastle[8]
- Squirrel Treefrog (Hyla squirella) - found between Philadelphia and Carlisle[9]
- Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea) - reported between Philadelphia and Lebanon[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Pennsylvania Native Reptile and Amphibian Species". Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commisision. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ a b c "PARS". Pennsylvania Amphibian & Reptile Survey. The Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology and Conservation. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Gibbs, H. Lisle; Denton, Robert D. (2016). "Cryptic sex? Estimates og genome exchange in unisexual mole salamanders (Ambystoma sp.)". Molecular Ecology. 25: 2805–2816. doi:10.1111/mec.13662.
- ^ "Ambystoma laterale". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
- ^ "Ambystoma tigrinum Eastern Tiger Salamander". NatureServe Explorer. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ "Anaxyrus fowleri". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
- ^ a b Roseman, Kimberly (2017). "The Utility of Hyla squirrella Microsatellite DNA Markers for Population Genetic Studies of Hyla versicolor and Hyla chrysoscelis". Western Illinois University ProQuest Dissertations. ProQuest 1933027058.
- ^ "Osteopilus septentrionalis". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
- ^ "Hyla versicolor". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
- ^ "Hyla cinerea". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
