Amphibians

American Bullfrog

Felice Bond

Most amphibians have four legs and smooth, moist skin lacking scales. In addition, most require water for their larval stage. Partly terrestrial as adults, they breathe through their skin. Frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts are all amphibians. They are of major importance in ecosystems, avidly eating insects, and themselves furnishing a meal for many other organisms.

Fourteen species of frogs and toads and eleven species of salamanders have been documented within the park. The largest concentrations of populations are found in large tracts of marshes and forested springs and wetlands within the Yorktown Battlefield and Jamestown Island. Amphibian populations increase during wet years and decrease during dry years.

During the day from spring through fall, visitors will not see or hear these animals unless they look under the bark of an old log or walk along a pond. However, just after sunset, a giant chorus of frogs begins to tune up, and the calls continue well into the night. Beginning in early March, spring peepers announce the coming of warmer weather, followed by the southeastern chorus frog, pickerel frog, and southern leopard frog. In May, calls of the northern green frog, American bullfrog, green tree frog, and Cope’s gray tree frog join in. By June, the Fowler’s toad and eastern narrow-mouthed toads have their voices. Seven species of salamanders occur on Jamestown Island and six are found within the Yorktown Battlefield and along tour roads.

The Mabee’s, spotted, marbled, and four-toed salamanders breed in shallow, seasonal wetlands. The two-toed amphiuma, one of the park’s more unusual species, lives and breeds entirely in fresh water. Only the red-backed and Atlantic coast slimy salamanders are entirely terrestrial in hardwood forests. The Mabee's salamander, a rare amphibian species found only in the southeastern corner of Virginia, is on the state “threatened” species list, and its habitat is disappearing due to urban development. The seasonal ponds of the Yorktown Battlefield complex are critical habitat, for the park, along with its adjacent city watershed lands, is one of the few locations that can support this species.

 

 

 

Species checklist

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

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Species attribute definitions

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