Amphibians of Ohio

The spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. The specific name is Latin from Greek, meaning the color of porphyry, a purple stone, and this salamander has also been called the purple salamander. It is found in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, inland karsts, and caves. Although deforestation is a potential threat, it occurs in many protected areas... less ↑

The American toad (Bufo americanus) is a common species of toad found throughout the eastern United States and Canada. It is divided into three subspecies—the eastern American toad (B. a. americanus), the dwarf American toad (B. a. charlesmithi), and the rare Hudson Bay toad (B. a. copei). A new taxonomy considers this species Anaxyrus americanus. less ↑

Cope's gray tree frog (Hyla chrysoscelis) is a species of tree frog found in the United States. It is almost indistinguishable from the gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor, and shares much of its geographic range. Both species are variable in color, mottled gray to gray-green, resembling the bark of trees. These are tree frogs of woodland habitats, though they will sometimes travel into more open areas to reach a breeding pond. The only readily noticeable difference... less ↑

The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is an aquatic frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or “true frogs”. This species has traditionally been classified as Rana catesbeiana, however the classification has been changed to Lithobates due to paraphyly in Ranidae. This frog has an olive green back and sides blotched with brownish markings and a whitish belly spotted with yellow or grey. The upper... less ↑

The wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) has a broad distribution over North America, extending from the southern Appalachians to the boreal forest with several notable disjunct populations including lowland eastern North Carolina. The wood frog has garnered attention by biologists over the last century because of its freeze tolerance, relatively great degree of terrestrialism (for a Ranid), interesting habitat associations (peat bogs, vernal pools, uplands), and relatively long-range movements. The ecology and conservation of the wood frog... less ↑

The streamside salamander can be found in upland deciduous forest in regions of rolling topography, mostly in areas with limestone bedrock, a few in noncalcareous regions with sandstone and shale. Adults are usually found underground, under rocks, leaves, logs, etc. It breeds most frequently in first- and second-order streams, and typically deposits eggs singly on the undersides of flat rocks in pools and (less often) runs. Less frequently, it breeds in ponds. Reproducton is most successful... less ↑

The small-mouth salamander (Ambystoma texanum) is a species of mole salamander found in the central United States, from the Great Lakes region in Michigan to Nebraska, south to Texas, and east to Tennessee, with a population in Canada, in Pelee, Ontario. It is sometimes referred to as the Texas salamander, porphyry salamander, or the narrow-mouthed salamander. The Kelley’s Island salamander (Ambystoma nothagenes) was synonymized with A. texanum in 1995. less ↑

The hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of giant salamander endemic to eastern North America. A member of the Cryptobranchidae family, hellbenders are the only members of the Cryptobranchus genus, and are joined only by one other genus of salamanders (Andrias, which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders) at the family level. These salamanders are much larger than any others in their endemic range, they employ an unusual means... less ↑

The northern two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata) is a species of salamander in the Plethodontidae family found in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, and urban areas. It is more water-oriented than the related northern redback salamander, and can often be found in and around water such as rain puddles, streams, swamps, and damp stream beds, whereas the northern redback tends... less ↑

The red back (or redback or red-backed) salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a small, hardy woodland salamander. It inhabits wooded slopes in eastern North America, west to Missouri, south to North Carolina, and north from southern Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canada to Minnesota. It is also known as the eastern red-backed salamander or the northern red back salamander to distinguish it from the southern red back salamander (Plethodon serratus). less ↑

The northern slimy salamander, Plethodon glutinosus, is a species of terrestrial plethodontid salamander found through much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States, from New York, west to Illinois, south to Texas, and east to Florida, with isolated populations in southern New Hampshire and northwestern Connecticut. It is called "slimy" because it is capable of excreting a sticky, glue-like substance from its skin. It is also sometimes referred to as the viscid salamander, grey-spotted salamander,... less ↑

Desmognathus fuscus is an amphibian in the lungless salamander family. The species is commonly called the dusky salamander or northern dusky salamander to distinguish it from populations in the southern United States which form a separate species, the southern dusky salamander (D. auriculatus). It can be found in eastern North America from extreme eastern Canada in New Brunswick south into the panhandle of Florida and west to Louisiana. The size of the species' total population is... less ↑

The green salamander (Aneides aeneus) is a member of the lungless salamanders, family Plethodontidae. It is the only member of the Aneides genus that inhabits the Eastern United States (all other Aneides salamanders are found in the west). Rarely seen in the field, the green salamander is an extremely habitat-specific species that is seldom found away from its preferred surroundings: moist, shaded rock crevices. less ↑

The mud salamander or midland mud salamander (Pseudotriton montanus diastictus) is a red salamander with black spots that inhabits swamps, bogs, and streams. It is often confused with the red salamander, but the mud salamander is distinguished by its dark eyes and short snout. It is indigenous to the eastern United States, but is currently an endangered species. Some states have programs to locate mud salamanders to try to keep the species alive. less ↑

The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a species of salamander in the genus Necturus. They live an entirely aquatic lifestyle in the eastern part of North America in lakes, rivers, and ponds. Mudpuppies go through paedomorphosis and retain their external gills. Because skin and lung respiration alone is not sufficient for gas exchange, mudpuppies must rely on external gills as their primary means of gas exchange. Mudpuppies are usually a rusty brown color and can grow... less ↑