Amphibians

Tiny but loud!- Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) is a small frog that produces a very loud sound that those who live on the East Coast of the United States are very familiar with. Peepers range in size from 0.5 inches to only an inch. Males call to attract females. They either sit on vegetation or in the water to call. They will defend a small territory in which they call. Those males who can peep more loudly and rapidly have an increased chance of attracting a female. Larger males also tend to breed more. Due to the energetic cost of this event, peepers are not sexually mature until they are 3 years old. Once they are mature they waste no time, and one of the 1st frog species to start reproducing after hibernation ends. Females also lay a whopping 600 to 1000 eggs per season making them an R selected species. They are in the family, Hylidae which contains a wide range of species but is generally considered to be treefrogs and their allies.

spring_peeper_i

They are a terrestrial species and prefer to live in wooded areas near water bodies that they breed in. While they are good climbers (in fact they even have tiny suction cups at the end of each finger) they prefer to live hidden in the leaf litter or on the ground. They will lay their eggs in vernal pools, ponds or wetlands. The larvae then metaphorize 45 to 90 days later depending on water availability.  The frogs have a preference for those waterbodies that have vegetation and those without fish which can be predators of their larvae.  A study in Arkansas documented that the species uses caves in the event of a drought because of the high relative humidity.

peepers
A spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) on my friend’s hand. Captured by Lauren Schramm

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Types of amphibians galore! Class Amphibia

The class Amphibia contains amphibians which are some of my favorite animals. There are three major types which are frogs & toads (order Anura), salamanders (order Caudata), and caecilians (order Apoda). All these orders share certain characteristic including being endothermic, meaning they are unable to regulate their own body temperature. They have both lungs and gills, typically they have gills in the larvae stage but then develop lungs in the adult stage. Their eggs are anamniotic, meaning they are covered by a gelatinous mass that protects the eggs and prevents them from drying out. The warmer and moister an area the more likely it is that they will have more species of Amphibia.

The order Anura contains both frogs and toads, and over 3,400 species! They have longer hind legs than front legs which gives them the ability to hop. The tail is lost in the adult stage and adult males are typically the only ones that vocalize, and they do so to attract mates. Within the order, there are a few distinct families which include the tailed-frog (Ascaphidae),  spadefoot toads (Pelobatidae), narrow-toed toads (Leptodactylidae), true toads (Bufonidae), and true frogs (Ranidae). These are only 5 families. I will post later but this is a good start. If you learned the basic characteristic of each family it will greatly improve the speed and accuracy with which you can identify species.

  • tailed-frog (Ascaphidae)
    • this family only has one species (Ascaphus truei) that lives in the Pacific Northwest
    • ascaphus_truei_web

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A salamander powered by algae!- Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)

For the 1st species Sunday I am writing about the Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum).

spotted_salamander

In high school, I actually raised some from eggs. I learned a lot about them and salamanders in general during that process and they are very interesting animals! They are found all over the Eastern U.S. and are considered to have stable populations. Adults live in a forest and they lay their eggs in vernal pools or water bodies that lack fish. A vernal pool is an area that only has water during the spring, usually due to melting snow, and they serve as important habitat for amphibians. Adults are between 6 and 10 inches long but are rarely seen because they live in leaf litter, under logs, or in tunnels. They are also active at night.

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