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ORDER ANURA: FROGS AND TOADS
___ American Toad (Bufo americanus)
Description: Medium-sized (up to 8 cm SVL), gray to greenish gray toad with large dark back spots roughly in pairs flanking light midback stripe. Chest and belly white or gray; dark pigment, if any, limited to small spot on chest. Habitat: A wide variety of habitats where flooded fields, ditches and other bodies of water are available for reproduction. LISTEN! Photo
FAMILY HYLIDAE: TREE FROGS
___ Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans)
Description: Small (up to 3 cm SVL) olive brown frog with an elongate green or red stripe on back and a light line from eye to shoulder. Triangle-shaped pattern between eyes; Belly pale except for dark throat of male. Extensive webbing between toes of hind feet; small toe-pads; dark stripe on posterior surface of thigh; and white wart on each side of cloacal opening. Habitat: Shallow margins of lakes, ponds, marshes and streams, where they are active even in very cold weather. LISTEN! Photo
___ Common Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
Note: Individuals of these two nearly identical species are distinguishable only by chromosome number (H. chrysoscelis is diploid, H. versicolor is tetraploid) and mating call (trill rate is faster in H. chrysoscelis). Description: Medium-sized (up to 6 cm SVL) brown or greenish brown frog with a black star-shaped or irregular X-shaped blotch on back. Belly pale, throat of male dark. Dark bars on arms and legs. Bright orange on hind legs. Large toe-pads. Habitat: Trunks and branches of trees. LISTEN! Photo
___ Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)
___ Upland Chorus Frog (Pseudacris feriarum)
Description: Small (up to 4 cm SVL) gray, tan, or brown frog with three dark spots or stripes. Very little webbing. Small toe pads. Belly cream with scattered dark flecks. Middle section of leg (tibia) at least 47% as long as SVL. Distinct dark stripe on each side from snout through eye and along side to groin. Habitat: Forests, forest edges and nearby open marshy fields. LISTEN!
FAMILY RANIDAE: TRUE FROGS
___ Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris)
Description: Small to medium-sized (4.5-7.0 cm SVL) gray or tan frog with back spots symmetrically arranged and square rather than round. Yellow/orange on thighs (underside). Occasionally, spots fuse to form rectangles or long bars on back. On sides, spots are higher than long and aligned in one row. Belly plain white. Habitat: Dense herbaceous vegetation along streams and within fens. LISTEN! Photo
___ Green Frog (Rana clamitans)
Description: Largest frog in Prince William Forest Park (9-15 cm SVL); olive, green or brown frog sometimes with dots or obscure black blotches on back. Backs of juveniles and tadpoles covered with small, evenly scattered black dots. Belly ranges from white to yellow, in some individuals marked with black spots or networks. Habitat: Permanent bodies of water (lakes, ponds, rivers, sluggish portions of streams), forests and disturbed habitats. LISTEN! Photo
___ Southern Leopard Frog (Rana utricularia)
___ Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)
Description: Small to medium-sized (3.5-6.0 cm SVL) tan to reddish brown frog. Back occasionally sports a few scattered black dots. Legs sometimes crossed with dark bands. Breeding male is smaller than female, is darker and has enlarged thumbs. Habitat: Solitary inhabitant of mature, moist forests. LISTEN! Photo
FAMILY PELOBATIDAE: SPADEFOOT TOADS
___ Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrooki)
Description: Medium-sized (up to 6 cm SVL) brown or yellow-brown frog, sometimes very dark. Pair of yellowish stripes usually extends from eye down back, converging in middle of back to outline an hourglass. Belly gray to white, without spots. Skin with small warts that may be tipped with red (especially in juveniles). Habitat: Forested and open areas, in sandy or loose soils. Is rarely seen ands spends much of life underground, where it burrows rearfirst using spades on hind feet. Emerges only to breed often in very heavy rain. LISTEN!
ORDER CAUDATA: SALAMANDERS
FAMILY AMBYSTOMATIDAE: MOLE SALAMANDERS
___ Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)
Description: Stout salamander up to 19 cm TL with bright yellow spots on back and occasionally orange spots on head. Rarely without spots, but unspotted individuals still recognizable by robust build and plain belly. Habitat: Deciduous forests with access to vernal pools or fish-free permanent ponds suitable for breeding and larval life (spring breeder). Photo
___ Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)
Description: Short (up to 12 cm TL), stocky salamander with grayish white (female) or bright white (male) crossbands on back and tail, sometimes incomplete, sometimes running together along sides. Before banded pattern develops on juveniles, the back is covered with scattered whitish or silvery frosting. Habitat: Mesic forests, dry hillsides, and moist floodplains. Fall breeder. Photo
FAMILY PLETHODONTIDAE: LUNGLESS SALAMANDERS
___ Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus)
Description: A moderately stout (up to 12 cm TL) salamander with dark markings on back, remnants of spotted juvenile pattern, that form a broad, irregular light stripe down back and onto tail. Habitat: Cool, spring-fed headwater streams flowing through forests. Photo
___ Northern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata)
Description: Adults 6.4 to 12.1 cm in length, are characterized by a broad stripe stretching from head to tail along their slender bodies. The stripe, bordered on both sides by narrow black lines that may separate into dashes along caudal regions, ranges in color from yellow to greenish yellow or tan. Medially, the stripe may be marked with a row of dark spots. Habitat: Woodland with sufficient cover provided by layers of fallen leaves, logs or rocks, wet areas (seeps). Adults commonly occur along stream banks. Photo
___ Long-tailed Salamander (Eurycea longicauda)
Description: A long (up to 16 cm TL), slender lemon-yellow to yellowish orange salamander with scattered black blotches along back and sides. Belly yellow to cream and usually unspotted. Habitat: Near cool streams and spring seeps in forests of dissected, rocky uplands and valley edges. Photo
___ Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)
Description: A small (up to 10 cm TL), slender, reddish brown salamander with a black-spotted ivory-white belly. Four toes on back feet (other salamanders have five). Habitat: Boggy pools or spring-fed ravines in undisturbed or mature deciduous forests. Several localities are second-growth woods in soggy soil below dams of man-made lakes. Photo
___ Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)
Description: A dark, slender salamander (up to 11 cm TL) with straight-edged reddish stripe on back. Belly mottled or dotted black and white but never has orange marks around bases of front legs. Habitat: Terrestrial. Found in forests under logs, bark, sticks and stones. Photo
___ White-spotted Slimy Salamander (Plethodon cylindraceus)
___ Eastern Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton montanus)
Description: Adults measure 7.5 to 19.5 cm (3.0 to 7.7 in.) in length. The eastern mud salamander is a vibrant red with small black spots. Body coloration and spotting vary with age, as juveniles are often bright red and lightly marked with a few, tiny spots. In contrast, the brick red or brown skin of older individuals is patterned with larger spots, which may be obscured by the darker body coloration. Habitat: low elevation swamps, bogs, springs and streams that provide a muddy substrate (bottom) as well as clear, clean water. A fossorial (burrowing) species, this salamander seeks shelter in burrows beneath leaf litter, logs, stones or bark and may also excavate tunnels in creek banks.
___ Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber)
Description: Stout-bodied, medium-sized salamander ranging between four and seven inches (10 to 18 cm) in length. There are a few major field marks that can be used to identify this salamander, such as: pink to reddish orange and black spots that are irregularly shaped( usually clumped); yellow iris. Habitat: Terrestrial or aquatic environments, but are aquatic in winter. In the terrestrial environment they can typically be found in wooded areas under fallen bark, logs and rocks. Their aquatic preference is in the leaf litter of clean and cool running streams. Photo
FAMILY SALAMANDRIIDAE: NEWTS
___ Red-spotted Newt (Adult) (Notophthalmus viridescens)
Description: Small (up to 11 cm TL), olive green to yellowish brown (reddish brown in efts) salamander, with small scattered black dots. Black-dotted yellow belly contrasts sharply with sides. This newt has a three stage life-cycle: Aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile and aquatic adult. Aquatic adult has tail fin. Photo
___ Red Eft (Juvenile) (Notophthalmus viridescens)
Description: Small (up to 11 cm TL), The terrestrial stage of the eastern newt (Notopthalmus vividescens). Efts spend two to three years foraging about the woodland floor looking for bugs, slugs and worms. During the day they stay under rocks, logs and leaves in moist crevices. A good time to see them is after a rain. The fully matured adults return to the water after courtship, where they spend the rest of their lives. They turn dull green, but keep their spots.
This resource is based on the following sources:
Elliot, Lang. (1998). The Calls of Frogs and Toads. Northward Press.
Linzey, Donald. (1995). Snakes of Virginia. U.S.A. The University Press of Virginia.
National Park Service. (2003). Mammal Species List for Prince William Forest Park
Pickett, Bob. Appalachian Mammals. Retrieved December 19, 2003 from the World Wide Web: www.bobpickett.org/MAMMINDEX.htm
United States Geological Survey. (2003). ARMI National Atlas for Amphibian Distributions. Retrieved January 5, 2004 from the World Wide Web: www.usgs.gov
