Introduction
Only two species of amphibians have been positively identified in the southern Snake Range and adjacent portions of Snake and Spring valleys--the spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus hammondi) and the leopard frog (Rana pipiens). The current status of these species in this area is unknown. The following list includes these species as well as species that potentially could occur in this area, based on their wider distribution and habitat requirements. Evidence for occurence, such as published reports and collections, are provided in each annotation. Explanatory notes and references follow the list.

Amphibians that potentially occur in the South Snake Range and vicinity

Tiger Salamander
Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum Holowell

Expected to occur in or near the park (Tanner 1989). No published documentation or other reports are known for this area.

Great Basin Spadefoot Toad
Scaphiopus hammondi intermontanus Cope

Occurs throughout most of Nevada (Banta 1965a). Expected to occur in or near the park (Tanner 1989). One specimen was collected two miles west of Baker (BLM 1980; specimen: NSM).

Western Toad
Bufo boreas boreas Baird and Girard

Occurs throughout most of Nevada, except Amargosa and Colorado River Basins (Banta 1965a). Reportedly collected in White Pine Co. but not near the park (BLM 1980).

Woodhouse Toad
Bufo woodhousei woodhousei Girard

Expected to occur in or near the park (Tanner 1989). No published documentation or other reports are known for this area.

Pacific Treefrog
Hyla regilla Baird and Girard

Occurs in most counties in Nevada (Banta 1965a). No published documentation or other reports are known for this area.

Western Leopard Frog
Rana pipiens brachycephala Cope

Occurs in most of northern two-thirds of Nevada (Banta 1965a). Expected to occur in or near the park (Tanner 1989). Specimens have been collected in Spring Valley at Shoshone (BLM 1980; specimen: CAS) and Cleveland Ranch (Linsdale 1940; specimen: UCMVZ).

Spotted Frog
Rana pretiosa

This is a FWS Candidate taxa (USFWS 1996). Possibly occurs in or near the park (Tanner 1989). Gomez (1984) includes a range map showing a disjunct population in the Snake Range. This map is attributed to Stebbins (1985) but it differs greatly from the species range map (no. 50) published in Stebbins, which shows the nearest population occuring well north of the park, probably in the Deep Creek Range. A species of Rana has been observed by park staff at Shoshone Ponds in Spring Valley but none have been captured to determine whether these are spotted or leopard frogs.

Bullfrog
Rana catesbeiana Shaw

Non-native but introduced in many parts of Nevada (Banta 1965a). Not reported in or near the Snake Range.

Explanatory Notes
Local amphibian populations have received almost no scientific study. They have not been inventoried, are not being monitored, and are rarely reported. Please report any sitings to the Resource Management Branch of the park.

Specimen codes refer to locally collected specimens stored in the following collections: CAS = California Academy of Sciences; NSM = Nevada State Museum; UCMVZ = University of California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology; WACC = Western Archeological and Conservation Center.

The left tibio-fibula of a "small toad" was identified in the vertebrate fauna (Recent) from the Lehman Caves Entrance archeological site (Zeigler 1964). The species was not determined. The specimen (cat. no. GRBA 1217) is stored at WACC.

References

Baggs, J.E. 1993. Annotated bibliography of biological collections from Great Basin National Park. Volume II: Fauna. Cooperative Park Studies Unit, University of Nevada; Las Vegas.

Banta, B.H. 1965a. A distributional checklist of the Recent amphibians inhabiting the state of Nevada. Biological Society of Nevada Occasional Papers No. 7. 4 pp.

Banta, B.H. 1965b. An annotated chronological bibliography of the herpetology of the state of Nevada. The Wasmann Journal of Biology 23(1-2):1-224.

BLM. 1971. Annotated list of the amphibians and reptiles of the Ely BLM District. Bureau of Land Management; Ely, NV.

BLM. 1980. Nongame species literature search in support of wildlife inventories in the Elko, Ely, and Battle Mountain BLM Districts of Nevada. Bureau of Land Management; Reno, NV.

Gomez, D. 1994. Conservation assessment for the spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) in the Intermountain Region, USFS. U.S. Forest Service; Ogden, UT.

Linsdale, J.M. 1940. Amphibians and reptiles in Nevada. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 73(8):197-257.

Stebbins, R.C. 1985. A field guide to Western reptiles and amphibians. Houghton Mifflin; Boston.

Stebbins, R.C. 1954. Amphibians and reptiles of western North America. McGraw-Hill; New York.

Tanner, W.W. 1978. Zoogeography of reptiles and amphibians in the Intermountain Region. Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs No. 2:43-53.

Tanner, W.W. 1989. Draft list of amphibians and reptiles expected to occur in Great Basin National Park. Personal correspondence on file in GRBA office.

USFWS. 1996. Proposed and Candidate animal and plant species. Federal Register; February 28, 1996.

Ziegler, A. 1964. Animal bones from Lehman Caves National Monument. pp. 42-66 in Rozaire, C. 1964. The archeology at Lehman Caves National Monument. Nevada State Museum; Carson City.

Last Modified: October 1996, Kurt Pfaff August 6, 2002