Endangered Frogs and Toads Found in the United States

These are the native frogs and toads of the United States that are listed on the endangered species list.

The Llanero Coqui (Eleutherodactylus juanariveroi) is found in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is known for its Coqui frogs and this species is the smallest. Habitat lose, pollution, and climate change are all factors in making the Llanero Coqui endangered. They also have low reproductive output, only around 3-5 eggs per reproductive episode which also hurts its chances of surviving.

The Dusky Gopher Frog / Mississippi Gopher Frog (Lithobates sevosa) is found only in one ponds in Mississippi. It is estimated that there’s less than 250 frogs left. Habitat lose specifically old growth pine forests and the decrease in numbers of Gopher Tortoises are responsible for the frog being listed as endangered.

The Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog (Rana muscosa) is found in California. Invasive fish such as trout, Chytrid fungus, and livestock grazing has contributed to the decline of the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog.

Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog (Rana sierrae) is endemic to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and Nevada. It faces the same threats as the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog.

Wyoming Toad or Baxter’s Toad (Anaxyrus baxteri) is an extremely endangered frog. Its classified been classified as extinct in the wild since 1991. It’s found in Wyoming as the name suggests. Captive breeding of the toad has kept them alive in zoos and they have been reintroduced to the wild but chytrid fungus keeps killing them.

The Arroyo Toad (Anaxyrus californicus) is found in California and Baja Mexico. The most important threats to the toad are human based such as construction of roads, mining, grazing by livestock, off road vehicle use, and agriculture. Other threats include invasive species such as American Bullfrogs, drought, wildfires, and light and noise pollution,

The Houston toad (Anaxyrus houstonensis) is native to Texas. Habitat lose, pollution, and drought have decreased the toads numbers. Captive breeding programs have been releasing toads back into the wild to help increase their numbers.