Lizards & Frogs

Lizard and frogs, hmmmm, there are so many kinds to talk about, some poisoneous and some not. I have some pictures on this page that might be able to show you different kinds of lizards and frogs that you may have never seen. I hope that you enjoy what I am about to show you and tell you.

Salamanders

Ringed Salamander ~ (Ambystoma annulatum)
Description: This lizard is 5 1/2 to 9 1/4 inches. He has a small head and a very slender body. His colors are deep brown to black on top and narrow cream to yellow bands encircle the body and tail, which join a light-gray streak along the lower side. The belly is slate colored with spots.
Habitat: The habitat of this salamader is damp forest areas or clearings.
Extra tip: It is secretive and seldomly seen above ground.

Three-toed Amphiuma ~ (Amphiuma tridactylum)
This lizard is 18 to 41 3/4 inches. It is an aquatic eel-like salamander; with four tiny legs, each with three toes. It has dark brown on top and the belly is light gray.
Habitat: The habitat of this salamander is the bottomland marshes and lakes. It also lives in the bayous, cypress sloughs, and streams in hilly regions.
Extra Tip: This amphiuma can be found after dark in shallows, poking its head out of debris or bottom mud, or foraging for crayfish, frogs, small snakes and fish. Like other amphiumas, Three-toes are commonly caught by fishermen, who detest them as a nuisance preying on virtually everything that swims, including other amphiumas. In turn they are preyed upon by mudsnakes and cottonmouths. Amphiumas rarely leave the water but may travel short distances overland during rainstorms.

Many-Ribbed Salamandar ~ (Eurycea multiplicata) *Also called a Brook Salamander
Description: This lizard is 2 3/8 to 4 1/8 inches. Adults have a yellowish-brown to chocolate-brown band top, often bordered by dark lines and sometimes with narrow line down band's center. The lower sides show some silvery flecks. The belly is pale gray to yellow. The permanent larvae are pale, and lack much of the normal pattern; they are larger than transformed animals.
Sub-Species: Many-ribbed (E. m. multiplicata), the back is bordered by indistinct lines or the lines are absent, the belly is uniformly yellow. Gray-bellied (E. m. griseogaster), the back is banded by a well defined dark line, the belly is gray to yellow with tiny dark dots or dark patches.
Habitat: Cave springs and their run offs, cold spring-fed brooks.
Extra Tip: Permanent larvae occur most often among cave-dwelling populations of this species. During wet weather, Many-ribbed adults leave their aquatic sanctuaries and forage in adjacent woodlands.

Eastern Red-backed Salamandar ~ (Plethodon cinereus)
Description: This lizard is 2 1/2 to 5 inches. This breed is long and slender. There are two color phases: "red-backed" has a broad, straight-edged, dark bordered red stripe extending along the back from the head on to the tail and narrowing at the base of the tail. The stripe may be yellow, orange, pink, or gray. "Lead-backed" is light gray to almost black, without a stripe. Intermediates are occasionally found. Their belly has black and white mottling.
Habitat: Cool moist coniferous, mixed, and hardwood forests.
Extra Tip: This salamander is completely terrestrial. It is the most abundant and commonly encountered salamander throughout much of its range. Because of its ability to tolerate the cold, the Red-backed has survived in glaciated areas of northeast United States and southeast Canada. During the day it hides under stones or woodland debris. At night it searches amid moist leaf litter for tiny invertebrates. During warm spells in winter it may be found at the surface. In dry weather it retreats underground and only surfaces after rainstorms.

Cheat Mountain Salamandar ~ (Plethodon nettingi)
Description: This lizard is 3 to 4 3/4 inches. This species is long and slender also. It's black back is boldly marked with numerous small brassy flecks. The belly is dark gray to black.
Endangered Status: The Cheat Mountain Salamander is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as threatened throughout its range in the mountains of east-central West Virginia. Its original habitat was Red Spruce forests, but these forests were largely destroyed by the early 20th century. Its populations probably plummeted then. The Cheat Mountain Salamander now lives in isolated populations in a variety of forest-types in the mountains. An alteration of its habitat; even minor disturbances like the building of a hiking trail, continue to pose a threat to this species. However, both it and its habitat are monitored and protected in Monongahela National Forest and Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and its future looks hopeful.
Habitat: Moist, shaded ravines in spruce forests and humid deciduous forests.
Extra Tip: The Cheat Mountain Salamander and the Peaks of Otter Salamander were once considered subspecies of the Netting's Salamander. Both are now considered separate, full species. They occupy very restricted ranges, which probably were larger in the past. It appears as if the more successful Red-backed Salamander prevents these species from extending their ranges.

Dwarf Waterdog Salamandar ~ (Necturus punctatus)
Description: This lizard is 4 1/2 to 7 1/2 inches. This is the smallest of the waterdogs. It has bushy narrow gills; and a compressed tail. All of the feet have four toes. They are dark brown or slate-gray to black on top; with no black spots. Their belly is gray, with a bluish-white along the midline.
Habitat: Slow-moving muddy or sand-bottomed streams and associated deep irrigation ditches.
Extra Tip: The natural history of this species is even less known than that of other waterdogs. The extent of its range especially needs attention.

Toads/Frogs

Green Toad ~ (Bufo debilis)
Description: This toad is 1 1/4 to 2 1/8 inches. This is a small flat bright-green toad with many small warts and black spots. Large parotoids extend onto sides; cranial crests are absent. The male has a dark throat.
Warning: These toads have enlarged glands (called the paratoid glands) on the side of the neck, one behind each eye. These glands secrete a viscous white poison that gets smeared in the mouth of any would-be predator, inflaming the mouth and throat and causing nausea, irregular heart beat, and, in extreme cases, death. Toads pose a danger to pets, which may pounce on and bite them. Humans should take care to wash their hands after handling a toad, and to avoid touching the mouth or eyes until having done so.
Sub-species: Eastern (B. d. debilis), black spots are usually discrete. Western (B. d. insidior), black spots are usually interconnected.
Voice: A piercing cricketlike trill. Males call while floating head-up in the water.
Habitat: The shelter of rocks in semi-arid regions. Also found in prairies.
Extra Tip: They are active at twilight, but frequently will forage during the day following heavy rains. When threatened, it frequently flattens itself against the ground.

Barking Treefrog ~ (Hyla gratiosa)
Description: This frog is 2 to 2 3/4 inches. It is plump, with granular skin. Bright green, yellow, gray, or dark brown; dark spots are usually present in lighter phases. Yellowish stripes run from the upper jaw along both sides of the body. They have large toe pads. The male has a green or yellow throat.
Voice: Mating call is a single bell-like note given near water.The loud, barking rain call is given from high in trees.
Habitat: This frog spends warm months in treetops. During winter and dry periods, it seeks moisture by burrowing among tree roots, clumps of vegetation and in the ground.
Extra Tip: This is a nocturnal amphibian. An excellent terrarium pet, it readily accepts insects from fingertips at night, growing plump through the years. During the day it sleeps in a secluded spot.

African Clawed Frog ~ (Xenopus laevis)
Description: This frog is 2 to 3 3/4 inches. It is olive-brown or gray, with darker marks and mottling. With no external eardrums, tongue, or teeth. Horny black claws on the outer 3 toes of the hind feet. The hind toes are fully webbed. The male is smaller than the female; it has dark nuptial pads on the front limbs.
Voice: Despite the absence of vocal sacs, males give a loud, rattling croak while swimming.
Habitat: Standing water, from slow-moving permanent streams to ponds and marshes.
Extra Tip: This is a nocturnal amphibian also. Although mainly aquatic, African Clawed Frogs sometimes turn up in rain pools, indicating land passage. When not actively foraging or mating, they rest quietly on the bottom or hide under rocks. They are highly carnivorous and eat anything they can catch.

Pig Frog ~ (Rana grylio)
Description: This frog is 3 1/4 to 6 3/8 inches. It is a large bullfrog; olive to grayish-green to dark brown, with numerous dark spots and a distinct band on the thighs. It has a large eardrum, and fully webbed hind feet. It doesn't have dorsolateral ridges. The belly is a cream color, often with heavy mottling.
Voice: A short, explosive piglike grunt, from which it gets its common name. Chorus sound is a steady roar. Calls year-round, usually from a floating position.
Habitat: Aquatic. Marshes, shores of lakes, ponds, or other waters with a dense cover of emergent or floating vegetation.
Extra Tip: This frog is also nocturnal. They are known as "bullfrogs" throughout much of the South, Pig Frogs are sought for their edible legs. Where they are hunted regularly, they are wary of humans and headlamps. Where they are not hunted, they are placid and easily approached. The most aquatic of the bullfrogs, the Pig Frog spends most of its time floating among water hyacinth, cattails, or emergent sedges. It feeds extensively on crayfish.

Carpenter Frog ~ (Rana virgatipes)
Description: This frog is 1 5/8 to 2 5/8 inches. It is small, and brown; with four distinct yellowish stripes down the back but no dorsolateral folds. The underside is a cream color to yellow, with random dark spotting. The webbing does not reach tip of the longest toe.
Voice: A rhythmic hammering sound; chorus sounds like several carpenters at work.
Habitat: Sphagnum bogs and sphagnum fringes of lakes and ponds. It is also found in tea-colored, slow-moving water with abundant emergent vegetation.
Extra Tip: This frog nocturnal. This frog is often seen wholly out of water but is never far from the edge. When frightened, it leaps into water and hides beneath vegetation, swimming only a short distance before it breaks the surface for a quick look at the pursuer.

Spring Peeper ~ (Pseudacris crucifer)
Description:This frog is 3/4 to 1 3/8 inches. It is tan to brown to gray, with a characteristic dark X on back. With large toe pads.
Sub-species: Subspecies Northern (P. c. crucifer), has an unmarked belly; throughout the species. Southern (P. c. bartramiana), has a spotted belly.
Voice: A high-pitched ascending whistle, sometimes with a short trill. Chorus sounds like the jingle of bells. The males call from shrubs and trees standing in or overhanging water.
Habitat: Wooded areas in or near permanent or temporarily flooded ponds and swamps.
Extra Tip: Nocturnal also. The Spring Peeper is one of the most familiar frogs in the East. Its chorus is among the first signs of spring. Peepers hibernate under logs and loose bark.

Lizards

Green Iguana ~ (Iguana iguana)
Description: This lizard is 40 to 79 inches. They are large and blunt-snouted. Green to blue-gray with crest of comblike spines down back and tail, the most prominent on the neck. With dark bands across the shoulders and the tail. Their color darkens with age, becoming nearly black. They have an enormous black-edged scale on the lower jaw below ear. And a jagged fringe on edge of dewlap. The male has a larger head with splashes of orange or yellow, an row of glandular pores under hind legs. The young are bright green; with a low crest down back.
Habitat: Arboreal. Most frequently seen in large trees with dense canopies, especially in humid areas. Iguanas seem to prefer trees near or overhanging water.
Extra Tip: Diurnal. Adult Iguanas are agile climbers, but juveniles less than 12 inches long seem more terrestrial. Large Iguanas will readily take to water to avoid capture, diving and remaining on the bottom until the danger has passed. Although herbivores, Iguanas will not hesitate to bite if caught. The lashing tail is a formidable weapon, as are the sharp claws.

Reef Gecko ~ (Sphaerodactylus notatus)
Description: This lizard is 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 inches. The smallest North American lizard. The snout is pointed; with a small spine over each large lidless eye. The color is drab brown with dark speckling; the tails underside is pale orange. The female and young show three light-centered dark stripes on their head; the neck has a dark blotch surrounding two white eyelike spots. Their markings fade with age in the male until only scattered dark speckles remain. The juveniles tail has a white tip. The back scales are large, overlapping, and strongly keeled. They have expanded toe pads.
Sub-species: Five; One in our range: Florida Reef Gecko (S. n. notatus)
Habitat: Leafy, coarse debris on shade floor of hammocks, coconut groves, ornamental gardens.
Extra Tip: They are primarily nocturnal, but so secretive it seems less common than it actually is. Scuffling through ankle-deep leaf litter will bring it to view scurrying to another shelter.

Gila Monster ~ (Heloderma suspectum)
Description: This lizard is 18 to 24 inches. It is large and heavy-bodied. It has small beadlike scales on the back. There are broken blotches, bars, spots of black and yellow, orange, or pink, with bands extending onto the blunt tail. The face is black.
Warning: The venom secreted when a Gila Monster bites causes great pain and localized swelling, but is rarely fatal to humans. It is the persistent grip of a Gila Monster's jaw that makes it dangerous to attempt to handle these animals.
Sub-species: Reticulate Gila Monster (H. s. suspectum), adults are mottled and blotched. Banded Gila Monster (H. s. cinctum), the adults have a broad double crossband.
Habitat: Arid and semi-arid regions of gravelly and sandy soils, especially areas with shrubs and some moisture. They are found under rocks, in burrows of other animals, sometimes in holes it digs itself.
Extra Tip: They are primarily nocturnal, although also active on warm winter or spring days. Gila Monsters and the related Mexican Beaded Lizards are the only venomous lizards. Their bite serves to overpower animal predators and prey. Produced in glands lying along the lower jaw, the poison is not injected like that of a snake but flows into the open wound as the lizard chews on its victim. Most prey is small enough to be taken easily without venom: small birds, eggs, small rodents, and other lizards.

Blue-tailed Mole Skink ~ (Eumeces egregius lividus)
Description: This lizard is 3 1/2 to 6 1/2inches. This is a relatively long-bodied brownish skink with four light stripes on the head and body. The top has light stripes that widen or diverge. The tail is blue. Their legs are tiny; with five toes. The ear opening is partly closed. It has supraocular scales, three of these. A breeding male has a reddish chin and belly.
Endangered Status: The Blue-tailed Mole Skink, a subspecies of the Mole Skink, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as threatened in Florida, where it lives only in Polk and Highlands Counties. This skink's habitat, of small pockets within larger sand pine scrub and sandhill areas, was substantially modified during the 20th century by citrus farming and residential, commerical, and recreational development. The skink declined as the area developed. Fire suppression has also affected this habitat. Naturally occurring wildfires keep a habitat in check; without regular fires a habitat will overgrow and eventually change into a different habitat type. This has happened in the Blue-tailed Mole Skink's habitat, limiting the places this creature can live.
Habitat: Inland sandhill scrub and turkey-oak.

Brown Anole ~ (Anolis sagrei)
Description: This lizard is 5 to 8 3/4inches. With an extensible throatfan yellow to red-orange, with a white line down the center. It has enlarged toe pads; and a short snout. They are tan to dark brown; with dark-bordered, interconnected light diamonds or a stripe down the back; the pattern fades in mature males to a uniform tan. The tail is compressed, with a prominent crest in the male.
Sub-species: Five subspecies; two have been introduced in our range. Cuban (A. s. sagrei), with a bright red-orange throatfan. Bahaman (A. s. ordinatus), the throatfan is mustard or yellow colored with red splotches.
Habitat: Trees, shrubs, fences, walls, lumber stacks, rock piles. Usually within six feet of the ground.
Extra Tip: Diurnal. Although frequently found on trees and shrubs, the Brown Anole is a terrestrial species. It never ventures far from the ground and rests its head down so that it can flee earthward when threatened. Males vigilantly protect their territory, driving intruders away by a ritual of intense headbobs or push-ups, followed by displays of the colorful throatfan. Ants, beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, and other prey are caught by swift dashes. Although two subspecies were introduced in Florida, most current individuals differ from the original subspecies and cannot be distinguished as one subspecies or the other and Florida populations tend to be closer to the Cuban subspecies.

Green Anole ~ (Anolis carolinensis)
Description: This lizard is 5 to 8 inches. A slender lizard with an extensible pink throatfan, and large toe pads. The snout is long, and wedge-shaped. There is a small dorsal crest immediately behind the head that is only visible during threat display. This anole is usually green, but in seconds can change to brown or intermediate colors. The tail is round.
Sub-species: Northern Green Anole (A. c. carolinensis), found throughout the range. Southern Green Anole (A. c. seminolus).
Habitat: Arboreal. Encountered on vertical surfaces like fence posts and walls; but favors tree boles, shrubs, vines, tall grasses, palm fronds.
Extra Tip: Diurnal, but easily collected by night with the aid of a light; moisture on the skin makes these anoles shine as though covered with reflecting yellow paint. Adults prefer shaded perches. Juveniles prefer sunnier locations closer to ground. Basking anoles are typically brown; fighting males turn green with a black patch behind the eyes. They slowly stalk their prey: flies, beetles, moths, spiders, even small crabs. Folks in Georgia call this lizard a chameleon.

Small Facts on Extra types of Amphibians and Lizards

Tailed Frog ~ Ascaphus truei--Breathes through their skin and, therefore, require cool, highly humid riparian zones for survival.
Bull Frog ~ Rana catesbeiana--Widely introduced and directly predates on smaller frogs.
Red-Legged Frog ~ Rana aururo--The decline in California red-legged frogs is attributed to the spread of exotic predators such as bullfrogs, and the widespread changes that have fragmented habitat, isolated populations, and degraded streams.
Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog ~ Rana boylii--Does not currently have protected status in California.
Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog ~ Rana muscosa--Cousin of above named has a petition in California due to its decline of this species in Sierra Nevada.
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Western Aquatic Garter Snake ~ Thamnophis couchii--May predate heavily on juvenile Pacific giant larvae. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Western Pond Turtle ~ Clemmys marmota--Life span of this species is 50-70 years and they often have high site fidelity with one specimen captured at the same location 50 years later.
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Pacific Giant Salamander ~ Dicamptodon tenebrosus--May remain in fresh waters and retain its gills or may also shed its gills as an adult and walk overland.
Southern Torrent Salamander ~ Rhyacotriton variegatus--Inhabits headwater streams where it often spawns and seeps in headwall areas.

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Lizards & Frogs:amphibians --created by Valarie Dannels, valarie_anne68@yahoo.com

last modified September 16, 2004

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