Amphibians

Woodhouse's toad in the sand
Woodhouse's toad in the sand dunes at Padre Island National Seashore.

NPS photo

The following frogs and toads have been documented within Padre Island National Seashore. Please note this list may not be all-inclusive.

Frogs

Rio Grande Leopard Frog Rana berlandieri

Green Tree Frog Hyla cinerea

Hurter's Spadefoot Toad Scaphiopus hurterii

Spotted Chorus Frog Pseudacris clarkia


Toads

Coastal Plain Toad Incilius nebulifer

Texas Toad Anaxyrus speciosus

Woodhouse's Toad Anaxyrus woodhousii

Couch's Spadefoot Toad Scaphiopus couchii

Great Plains Narrow-mouthed Toad Gastrophryne olivacea

Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad Gastrophryne carolinensis

Source: Duran, Michael C.2004. An Inventory of Reptiles and Amphibians of Padre Island National Seashore.Texas Conservation Data Center. The Nature Conservancy.


 
Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad
Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad

NPS Photo

A New Frog for Padre!

For many years, Rangers at Padre Island National Seashore have been puzzled by the calls of a particularly elusive frog. Auditory calls, or vocalizations, are often recorded and used by scientists to identify species of hard to find amphibians. Many recordings were taken over the years of this particular frog in the park. As the frog continued to evade capture, multiple amphibian experts were consulted, however no one could make a definitive identification of the call. This mystery has eluded scientists for over a decade, until recently.

The summer months of 2015 were uncharacteristically rainy. The average annual rainfall for Padre Island National Seashore is approximately 32 inches; however in 2015 the park received over 53 inches. Frogs rely on freshwater for reproduction; rangers knew that the increase in surface water created a unique opportunity to study these amphibians. Additional frog vocalizations were recorded after rainstorms, but observing the frogs in the wild was still proving tricky. Finally on August 6, 2015, after years of painstaking work to capture and document these frogs, Park Ranger Alicia Walker finally spotted and was able to collect one of the mystery frogs.

The captured frog was identified as the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad. Experts were contacted to validate the identification of the frog because no historical records existed for the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad from Mustang Island, North Padre Island, South Padre Island, Nueces County, or any of the counties to the south. Narrow-mouthed Toads are very secretive, very small, and live mostly underground. They feed on a variety of insects but primarily eat ants. These elusive frogs breed on rainy summer nights where they congregate at temporary fishless water bodies. This is where rangers began trapping for more specimens, documenting every step of the process. After a month of trapping, 66 individuals were captured and confirmed as the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad.

Additional research is now needed to understand why the distribution has shifted so significantly. And further genetic research is needed to discover why the population at Padre Island National Seashore has such a unique call. Nonetheless, this is an exciting new discovery for Padre Island National Seashore.

Last updated: March 6, 2018

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 181300
Corpus Christi, TX 78480

Phone:

(361) 949-8068
Malaquite Visitor Center information line.

Contact Us