This is a list of amphibians of Pennsylvania as listed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.[1] Notes on ranges provided by Pennsylvania Amphibian & Reptile Survey.[2] Pennsylvania has 41 native species of amphibians, with 23 salamanders and newts, and 18 species of frogs and toads. Of these species, 13 are of special concern, 2 are threatened, 6 are endangered, and 1 species is extirpated.
Caudata - newts and salamanders
editFamily: Ambystomatidae - mole salamanders
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Jefferson salamander | Ambystoma jeffersonianum (Green, 1827) |
Species of special concern | Females of this species can form a unisexual form that cannot be identified to species level without DNA testing[3] | Statewide, seemingly absent from near Philadelphia and the surrounding counties |
|
Blue-spotted salamander | Ambystoma laterale Hallowell, 1856 |
Endangered | Females of this species can form a unisexual form that cannot be identified to species level without DNA testing[3] | Allegheny National Forest and surrounding areas; also a single record from Crawford County[4] and Northampton County[2] |
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Spotted salamander | Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw, 1802) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
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Marbled salamander | Ambystoma opacum (Gravenhorst, 1807) |
Species of special concern | Primarily southeastern counties, extends into central counties, scattered records in eastern counties | |
|
Tiger salamander | Ambystoma tigrinum (Green, 1825) |
Extirpated[5] | Females of this species can form a unisexual form that cannot be identified to species level without DNA testing[3] | Formerly known from Allegheny County and Cumberland County, has not been recorded in over a century |
Family: Cryptobranchidae - giant salamanders
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Eastern hellbender | Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis (Daudin, 1803) |
Species of special concern | Nominate subspecies, state amphibian | Northern and western counties, scattered records through south-central counties |
Family: Plethodontidae - lungless salamanders
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Green salamander | Aneides aeneus (Cope & Packard, 1881) |
Threatened | Fayette County | |
|
Northern dusky salamander | Desmognathus fuscus (Rafinesque, 1820) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
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Seal salamander | Desmognathus monticola Dunn, 1916 |
Species of special concern | Southwestern counties | |
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Allegheny Mountain dusky salamander | Desmognathus ochrophaeus Cope, 1859 |
Abundant | Statewide except southeast and some central counties | |
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Northern two-lined salamander | Eurycea bislineata (Green, 1818) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
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Eastern long-tailed salamander | Eurycea longicauda longicauda (Green, 1818) |
Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide, but notably absent from Wayne County and Erie County |
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Northern spring salamander | Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus (Green, 1827) |
Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide except southeast |
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Four-toed salamander | Hemidactylium scutatum (Tschudi, 1838) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
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Eastern red-backed salamander | Plethodon cinereus (Green, 1818) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
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Northern ravine salamander | Plethodon electromorphus Highton, 1999 |
Species of special concern | Southwestern counties | |
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Northern slimy salamander | Plethodon glutinosus (Green, 1818) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
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Valley and ridge salamander | Plethodon hoffmani Highton, 1972 |
Species of special concern | Central and south-central counties | |
|
Wehrle's salamander | Plethodon wehrlei Fowler and Dunn, 1917 |
Abundant | North-central and west-central counties | |
|
Eastern mud salamander | Pseudotriton montanus montanus Baird, 1850 |
Endangered | Nominate subspecies | Franklin County and Cumberland County |
|
Northern red salamander | Pseudotriton ruber ruber (Latreille, 1801) |
Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide |
Family: Proteidae - Mudpuppies
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Common mudpuppy | Necturus maculosus maculosus (Rafinesque, 1818) |
Species of special concern | Nominate subspecies | Western counties |
Family: Salamandridae - Newts
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Red-spotted newt | Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens (Rafinesque, 1820) |
Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide |
Anura - frogs and toads
editFamily: Bufonidae - true toads
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Eastern American toad | Anaxyrus americanus americanus (Holbrook, 1836) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
|
Fowler's toad | Anaxyrus fowleri (Hinckley, 1882) |
Species of special concern | Primarily eastern, with some scattered central and western observations and a notable population on Presque Isle State Park in Erie County[6] |
Family: Hylidae - tree frogs
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Northern cricket frog | Acris crepitans Baird, 1854 |
Endangered | If subspecies are recognized, it would be the nominate subspecies Acris crepitans crepitans | Southeastern, south-central, and Luzerne County |
|
Cope's gray treefrog | Dryophytes chrysoscelis (Cope, 1880) |
Species of special concern | Usually indistinguishable from Dryophytes versicolor without DNA analysis or analysis of mating call[7] Sometimes placed in the genus Hyla |
Southeastern and southwestern counties |
|
Gray treefrog | Dryophytes versicolor (Le Conte, 1825) |
Abundant | Usually indistinguishable from Dryophytes chrysoscelis without DNA analysis or analysis of mating call[7] Sometimes placed in the genus Hyla |
Statewide, less common in southwestern counties |
|
Mountain chorus frog | Pseudacris brachyphona (Cope, 1889) |
Species of special concern | Southwestern counties | |
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Spring peeper | Pseudacris crucifer (Wied-Neuwied, 1838) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
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Upland chorus frog | Pseudacris feriarum Baird, 1854 |
Species of special concern | Central and south-central | |
| New Jersey chorus frog | Pseudacris kalmi Harper, 1855 |
Endangered | Bucks County and Montgomery County | ||
|
Western chorus frog | Pseudacris triseriata Wied-Neuwied, 1838 |
Species of special concern | Not officially seen in Pennsylvania since 1958[2] | Western counties |
Family: Ranidae - true frogs
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
American bullfrog | Lithobates catesbeianus (Shaw, 1802) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
|
Green frog | Lithobates clamitans (Rafinesque, 1820) |
Abundant | If subspecies are recognized, the Pennsylvania subspecies would be Lithobates clamitans melanota | Statewide |
|
Atlantic Coast leopard frog | Lithobates kauffeldi (Feinberg et al., 2014) |
Endangered | Bucks County, Philadelphia County, and Delaware County | |
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Pickerel frog | Lithobates palustris (Le Conte, 1825) |
Abundant | Statewide | |
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Northern leopard frog | Lithobates pipiens (von Schreber, 1782) |
Species of special concern | Scattered reports across the state, but more common to the west and especially the northwest, and also around Northumberland County | |
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Coastal Plains leopard frog | Lithobates sphenocephalus utricularius (Harlan, 1825) |
Endangered | Southeasternmost counties | |
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Wood frog | Lithobates sylvaticus (Le Conte, 1825) |
Abundant | Statewide |
Family: Scaphiopodidae - American spadefoots
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Eastern spadefoot | Scaphiopus holbrookii (Harlan, 1835) |
Threatened | Central, south-central, and southeastern counties |
Nonnative species
editSeveral species of frog have been introduced to Pennsylvania, mostly around the Philadelphia area.
- Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) - recorded between Philadelphia and Greencastle[8]
- Squirrel tree frog (Hyla squirella) - found between Philadelphia and Carlisle[9]
- Green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) - reported between Philadelphia and Lebanon[10]
References
edit- ^ "Pennsylvania Native Reptile and Amphibian Species". Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commisision. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c "PARS". Pennsylvania Amphibian & Reptile Survey. The Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology and Conservation. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c Gibbs, H. Lisle; Denton, Robert D. (2016). "Cryptic sex? Estimates og genome exchange in unisexual mole salamanders (Ambystoma sp.)". Molecular Ecology. 25: 2805–2816. doi:10.1111/mec.13662.
- ^ "Ambystoma laterale". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ "Ambystoma tigrinum Eastern Tiger Salamander". NatureServe Explorer. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ "Anaxyrus fowleri". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Roseman, Kimberly (2017). "The Utility of Hyla squirrella Microsatellite DNA Markers for Population Genetic Studies of Hyla versicolor and Hyla chrysoscelis". Western Illinois University ProQuest Dissertations. ProQuest 1933027058.
- ^ "Osteopilus septentrionalis". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ "Hyla versicolor". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ "Hyla cinerea". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved September 19, 2024.