Reptiles and Amphibians
Green Frog; Lithobates clamitans
, previously Rana clamitans) lives in an artificial pond at a friend's house. It must be used to people, it didn't flinch when I got my camera within a foot away.
Spring Peeper Frog; Pseudacris crucifer
One of the girls at science camp found this tiny frog in a field near a wet-weather wetland. Peepers are less than an inch long. I had a hard time getting this picture, sometimes I have to get a photo whenever, wherever and however I can get it! I love to hear these little frogs as they sing their courting songs early in the spring.
Red-cheeked Salamander; Plethodon jordani
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Aug. 9, 2008 The Smokies have more different kinds of salamanders than anywhere else in the world. This one is the "poster amphibian" of the park!
I caught this Gray Tree frog while it was croaking! It is amazing how large the throat pouch can enlarge!
American Green Tree Frog; Hyla cinerea
This cute little green frog likes to hang out on the sliding screen door near the porch light at my parents' house in Florida. I'm sure he gets lots of nice moths to eat each night.
This is the largest frog in North America, it can grow up to 8". I photographed this female in the pond at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville. I saw some huge tadpoles in the pond too. Females have a smaller tympanum (flat circular spot behind the eye) than males. Frogs have smooth skin and are more aquatic than toads. A good website for identifying Tennessee frogs and toads is: https://www.leaps.ms/namepage.htm A good website for frog calls is: frog calls
American Toad; Bufo americanus
Oak Ridge, TN May 2008 It is easy to see the poison-filled glands behind this Toad's eyes. This guy is probably one of the "survivors" of the numerous tadpoles kids bring to school to release in the pond of the "Secret Garden". I'm sure the goldfish get fed quite well each spring!
Eastern Red-spotted Newt; Notopthalalamus viridescens viridescens
Oak Ridge,TN May 2008 There are many of these newts in a pond at Haw Ridge.
I wish this froglet had not been partially hidden by the waterlily leaf, although it had grown its legs, it still had part of its' tail. The froglet also still had the coloration of the tadpole.
floating in a huge puddle in the middle of the dirt road at Piney Falls. It is easy to tell the difference between frog eggs and toad eggs --- frog eggs are laid in clumps and toad eggs are laid in strings. The little black dots in the eggs are the undeveloped tadpoles. Frogs lay huge numbers of eggs to ensure that a few of the tadpoles can survive to become adult frogs. There is a high mortality rate among tadpoles, they are eaten by birds, fish, and sometimes even other tadpoles.
This large tadpole has grown small hind legs, soon it wiil develop front legs too. I photographed it in the pond at Ijams Nature Center in late July. Bullfrog tadpoles can take up to 3 years to develop into frogs!
My husband put a penny by this Toad so I could show how small this little guy was. Like salamanders, toads have poisonous skin. The "warts" on a toad contain the poison which is released if an animal tries to eat it. We found this toad along the trail at Big Ridge State Park. Contrary to the old wives' tale, toads and frogs cannot give a person warts (they are caused by a virus)!
This Froglet still has a stump of a tail, pretty soon it will be an adult. I photographed it in a pond at Haw Ridge, a great hiking area in Oak Ridge.
Northern Red Salamander; Pseudotriton ruber ruber
Oak Ridge, TN June 6, 2008 A couple of the kids at the AMSE science camp found this beautiful salamder in the creek during the Stream Ecology class (which explains why it is trying to crawl out of a white pan!).
Kenny and I found this injured Toad on the trail below Piney Falls. Something had bitten it, we saw blood and the white liquid on its skin. The bumps on a toad's skin contains a poisonous white fluid which oozes out when it is disturbed.
. I had to lay flat on my stomach on a wooden deck at the house my son and daughter-in-law rented when they got married on St. George Is., Florida (May 2010). I knew immediately when I felt a painful jab in my big toe that I had rammed a splinter into it! At 1/2" long and being on the bottom of my toe, it was not easy or a lot of fun to pull out. But I was happy when I saw the photo of the cute little frog. :)
I photographed these large Tadpoles in the little pond at the University of Tennessee Arboretum. They are well camouflaged and they quickly hide in the mud when they detect danger.
I got a kick out of this little Red eft hiding under a leaf at Frozen Head State Park!
Knoxville, TN (Ijams Nature Center) May 31, 2010 This frog sounds like an off-key banjo string!
One of the kids from Science Camp caught this little Salamander larva during the Stream Ecology class. The larvae have feathery gills (on the head just in front of the front legs) to breathe in the water.
Gray Treefrog; Hyla versicolor
June 30, 2007 When we went to a friend's 50th birthday party one evening, I sure didn't think this would be the type of "wildlife" I would be photographing! :) They don't emerge and start calling until after dark, so I had to use a flash in this photo. My friends have a little pond on their patio that attracts these guys. This male frog is perched on a rose bush, I wonder how he avoids those sharp thorns?! It is easy to tell that he is a tree frog due to the little pads on the toes. Males woo the females by singing (croaking) as they inflate the throat pouch (see following photo). Their call sounds a lot like a bird chirping, if you hear what sounds like a bird chirping after the sun has set on a warm summer evening, it is probably one of these little frogs. If the cryptic coloration of these frogs doesn't hide them well enough, they also have bright gold-yellow "flashes" under their thighs which are revealed when they jump used to confuse a predator.
swimming in a small pond at the Oil Museum in Taft, CA. Tadpoles are herbivores, they eat algae. They go through metamorphosis, changing from a no-legged, fish-like gill-breathing, herbivorous creature to a 4-legged, air-breathing, carnivorous frog. Adult frogs eat insects and some other larger animals.
I photographed this Bull Frog at Ijams Nature Center. It was nearly the same color as the algae it was sitting on.
This Red Eft is the "teenage" stage of an Eastern Red-spotted Newt. The bright colors are a warning to predators. Most amphibians have poisonous skin. I found this one at Frozen Head State Park in early May. The Smoky Mountains are the "Salamander Capital of the World" with more species than any other place.