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Frog/Toad ID
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Posted by manature (My Page) on Wed, Sep 10, 08 at 10:03
| A GardenWeb friend posted some pictures of young frogs that were all over her road after a recent rain. Because we have an ongoing debate (battle?) about Cuban Treefrogs in central Florida, she wanted to be sure they were natives. I'm pretty confident these are NOT CTF's, but I can't find any pictures that look just like them. Perhaps they are babies and marked differently from the adults? Can anyone help? See link below, and thanks!
Marcia (Hi, Wayne!) |
Here is a link that might be useful: Unknown Frog
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Frog/Toad ID
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| They look like recently morphed bullfrogs although I am not an expert. Don't let my name fool you. It is my website name. They have bullfrog feet and coloration. I think I could see what is left of a tail also.Cuban Tree Frogs are an invasive species, not native and are a threat to the smaller native tree frogs as they eat them and compete for ther food and space. Another one is the Cane Toad brought here as pest control for the sugar cane and is now a threat to pets and children as they are extremely toxic. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Go here to search frogs by your zip code.
RE: Frog/Toad ID
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| Thanks for the guess, frogpatch. You might be right. We have also had someone post pictures of young eastern spadefoot toads, and they look VERY similar. I had the impression myself that it was a toad for some reason, so that made sense to me. But so far, no one has ID'd them with absolute certainty. Believe me, we know about CTF's in this area. I fight a constant battle with them, and have made surprising headway in my own garden. Even my native green anoles are on the rise, which the the Cubans decimated, along with our native treefrogs and anything else they can cram into their mouths. They will even eat baby birds! I reallyreally hate them! I appreciate your input! Marcia |
RE: Frog/Toad ID
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Nope - definitely not bullfrogs or even frogs. Those guys are Eastern Spadefoots (Scaphiopus holbrookii) - very very interesting anurans. Do some literature search on them (www.amphibiaweb.org is a good one) they have very unique life histories and ecology.
~Mike |
RE: Frog/Toad ID
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| Thanks, Mike! I appreciate your posting on the other site to let Karalynn know. My first impression was that they were toads of some sort, but I'm really not good with frogs and toads, except for the most common ones. I've had leopard frogs in my ponds, green frogs in water containers, and used to enjoy green treefrogs, before the steenkin' Cuban treefrogs showed up and got rid of them. When canoeing or camping, I've certainly heard plenty of pig frogs and narrow-mouthed toads. But that's about it. This little spadefoot is so cute! I'm happy to know what it is and to learn more about it. Thanks for the ID and info! Much appreciated. Marcia |
RE: Frog/Toad ID
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| No problem - glad I could help. These guys probably wouldn't be affected by the presence of Cubans as they are terrestrial and subterranean, so intraspecific encounters wouldn't be common enough to affect their populations (but who knows...these things are complex...I sense a research project..haha). You might be able to collect the cubans and sell them to biology supply warehouses (Carolina Bio or Wards) - it'd be better for them to use those for classroom dissections than native leopard frogs which usually get the brunt of it. Since they are a nonnative, invasive species I don't think there should be regulations against it, but you might want to check. I don't know if it'd do anything to their populations but perhaps if you kept removing them from your property it would allow other species a small refuge from them. This is a perfect example of why I'm so adamant against people posting threads on here asking others to send them frogs and tadpoles for their ponds - just one nonnative species can cripple your local ecosystem. ~Mike |
RE: Frog/Toad ID
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Mike:
I'd go out at night when I lived in FLA and collect a whole bucket of Cubans and dispatch them, trying to rid my area of those nasties. I'm still boycotting PetSmart for selling Cubans up here in VA for $15. Maybe if a couple more people wrote their corporate hq it would help. |
RE: Frog/Toad ID
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Dispatching them immediately is definitely the most efficient means of attempting to control them. Selling them to pet stores certainly isn't an answer either - just increases the chance of someone releasing them and having them get established in another region. I wonder if people could contact biological supply warehouses though - cubans are rather large and would be valuable for the thousands of dissections that occur in classrooms around the country every year, in addition maybe it would take some pressure of Lithobates pipiens (=Rana pipiens) which has been hit hard for decades. I think its a win-win situation - maybe people should start calling Carolina Biological Supply or Wards Biological Supply offering Cuban Treefrogs...see what happens
~Mike |
RE: Frog/Toad ID
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| Some kid would probably get sick from the skin toxins and sue, lol. Logic went out the window ages ago it seems and stupidity won. |
RE: Frog/Toad ID
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| Interesting idea, Mike. Anything that got rid of the CTF's and helped save a native frog would be okay with me. South Florida might already be a lost cause, but central Florida still has a chance. My son & family live just two hours north of us, and they have green treefrogs around their house in abundance. If the Cuban population were removed or at least drastically decreased in this area, I think the green treefrog would repopulate. I normally dispatch them as soon as I see them, with extreme prejudice and a very big shovel. But your idea has merit. Pondering, here.... Marcia |
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