My Texas Anuran Recordings

Even though I have recordings of over 80 species from 5 different countries so far,  most of my frog recording activity has been in my home state of Texas.  I have been recording frogs in Texas for several years now and it occurred to me that I had made a pretty good dent in the species that occur in my home state.  So I compiled a list of species in the state and looked at which species I had recorded somewhere and which of those I had recorded within the state of Texas.  To date, I have recordings of 40/42 species (95%) and have recorded 37/42 (88%) of those species within the state boundaries.   The ones I am missing either have restricted ranges within the state or narrow breeding seasons when I have not been able to get to them.



I am missing:

1. Lithobates palustris (Pickerel Frog) - Finally got this one in 2024

2. Anaxyrus houstonensis (Houston Toad) - The absence of this endangered species on my list is a combination of bad luck and not enough effort.  It breeds in the relict pine forests within 100 miles of me, but most of the well-known and publicly accessible breeding sites were destroyed in a massive fire in 2011.  There are still breeding populations, I just haven't been able to get up there and cross paths with them.  I should be able to get this one.

There are a few species for which I have recordings from elsewhere, but I still need to record in the state of Texas:

1. Anaxyrus americanus (American Toad) - this species has a limited and poorly defined range within Texas.  Furthermore its range is a long drive from me (7-8 hours) and it calls early in the year when I have less flexibility to drive up there.

2. Leptodactylus fragilis (Mexican White-lipped Frog) - this species is restricted to the Rio Grande Valley of southernmost Texas and only calls after periods of heavy rainfall.  I have a few localities picked out, I just need some heavy rain to fall during a time period I am available to make the trip.  A late summer tropical storm would be great, but it has been a few years since one hit south Texas.

3. Lithobates grylio (Pig Frog) - I have heard this species in Texas and have recordings from Florida.  Unfortunately, the salt water storm surge from Hurricane Ike wiped out my known location for them before I could make a trip to get a recording.  I am searching for a new location and hoping they make a comeback in the marshes that were inundated with saltwater.

4. Eleutherodactylus planirostris (Greenhouse Frog) - This is one species I "might" have Texas recordings of.  I have definitely recorded them in Florida, but I have a recording of what might be Eleutherodactylus planirostris from Chambers County, Texas, but I am not sure and I didn't see the frog and it is calling from among dozens of E. cystignathoides.  Their calls and their appearance are very similar!  Unfortunately, their range is likely to be spreading in Texas in the coming years so I will probably be able to fill this gap.

My Woodhouse's Toad recording is terrible as well, so I need to make the effort to improve that one.  Unfortunately, Woodhouse's Toads have been extirpated from large areas of the state where they formerly occured.  We don't know why.

Here's what I have and what I'm missing.  Can I finish them off in 2017?  I don't know, but it gives me something to work towards.....Come on rain!

Scientific Name	Common Name	Recorded	Recorded in Texas
Anaxyrus americanus	American Toad	X	-
Anaxyrus cognatus	Great Plains Toad	X	X
Anaxyrus debilis	Green Toad	X	X
Anaxyrus fowleri	Fowler's Toad	X	X
Anaxyrus houstonensis	Houston Toad	-	-
Anaxyrus punctatus	Red-spotted Toad	X	X
Anaxyrus speciosus	Texas Toad	X	X
Anaxyrus woodhousii	Woodhouse's Toad	X	X
Incilius nebulifer	Coastal Plains Toad	X	X
Rhinella horribilis***	Giant Toad	X	X
Craugastor augusti	Barking Frog	X	X
Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides	Rio Grande Chirping Frog	X	X
Eleutherodactylus marnockii	Cliff Chirping Frog	X	X
Eleutherodactylus planirostris	Greenhouse Frog	X	?
Acris blanchardi	Blanchard's Cricket Frog	X	X
Hyla arenicolor	Canyon Treefrog	X	X
Hyla chrysoscelis	Cope's Gray Treefrog	X	X
Hyla cinerea	Green Treefrog	X	X
Hyla squirella	Squirrel Treefrog	X	X
Hyla versicolor	Gray Treefrog	X	X
Pseudacris clarkii	Spotted Chorus Frog	X	X
Pseudacris crucifer	Spring Peeper	X	X
Pseudacris fouquettei	Cajun Chorus Frog	X	X
Pseudacris streckeri	Strecker's Chorus Frog	X	X
Smilisca baudinii	Mexican Treefrog	X	X
Leptodactylus fragilis	White-lipped Frog	X	-
Gastrophryne carolinensis	Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad	X	X
Gastrophryne olivacea	Great Plains Narrow-mouthed Toad	X	X
Hypopachus variolosus	Sheep Frog	X	X
Lithobates areolatus	Crawfish Frog	X	X
Lithobates berlandieri	Rio Grande Leopard Frog	X	X
Lithobates blairi	Plains Leopard Frog	X	X
Lithobates catesbeianus	American Bullfrog	X	X
Lithobates clamitans	Green Frog	X	X
Lithobates grylio	Pig Frog	X	-
Lithobates palustris	Pickerel Frog	X	X
Lithobates sphenocephalus	Southern Leopard Frog	X	X
Rhinophrynus dorsalis	Burrowing Frog	X	X
Scaphiopus couchii	Couch's Spadefoot	X	X
Scaphiopus hurterii	Hurter's Spadefoot	X	X
Spea bombifrons	Plains Spadefoot	X	X
Spea multiplicata	New Mexico Spadefoot	X	X

** - a recent evaluation of the Eleutherodactylus in Texas suggests that all the Eleutherodactylus in the rocky canyons of west and central Texas are E. marnockii and that E. guttilatus does not occur in the state.  That means another one off the list,.....but....a more recent study shows that there IS another species of Chirping Frog in West Texas, it just isn't E. guttilatus and needs to be renamed.  That study is pending and when it is published, I will add it to my list.  I may already have a recording of it, depending where its range is defined.

 

I also probably have to add the Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) to my list of Texas frogs as that species has become established in South Texas apparently? 😭

*** - a 2016 revision of the "Cane Toads" has shown that the species west of the Andes and up into Central and North America is a separate species, the Giant Toad (Rhinella horribilis).  I have chosen this taxonomy here, but also have a blog entry for the introduced Cane Toad (Rhinella marina) from its introduced range in Australia and elsewhere.

© Chris Harrison 2017 (updated 2024)