Photographs and Text by Teralene S. Foxx
Amphibians are good indicators of environmental health. They live in both land and water environments and are the first animals to be affected by environmental change. Amphibians include salamanders, toads, and frogs.
The name amphibian means "those who lead a double life." That is because they spend part of their life cycle in water and part on land. Amphibians have naked skin not covered by feather, fur, or scales; the skin is smooth or rough, wet or dry, or slimy. Water is absorbed through the skin. Larvae have gills, adults have lungs. Their body temperature is affected by heat and cold.
On the Pajarito Plateau there are two species of salamanders and five species frogs and toads.
The information presented here is taken from the following publication: Foxx, Teralene S., Timothy K. Haarmann, and David C. Amphibians and Reptiles of Los Alamos County. Los Alamos National Laboratory publication. LA-13626-MS October 1999.
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Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum
This large, stocky, colorful (black with yellow, white, or cream spots) salamander lives its entire life underground, emerging only to reproduced. The tiger salamander is terrestrial as an adult but returns to the water to reproduce. The female salamander lays her eggs in water (ponds, pools, slow moving streams, sewage lagoons). Soon the eggs hatch into free swimming larvae called waterdogs, which can be distinguished from tadpoles of frogs by the external gills. The adults are primarily burrowing animals and are active above ground only during wet periods. They can be found in animal burrows, under porches, and in basements of buildings. They eat other amphibians, small mice, earthworms, and large insects. |
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Jemez Mountain Salamander, Plethodon neomexicanus
This small, brown to black salamander is listed as a species of concern by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and as threatened by the New Mexico State Fish and Game Department. They lack lungs and breathe through mucous membranes in the mouth and throat. The Jemez Mountain salamander resembles a worm with legs and eyes and is found in and under rotting coniferous logs. The Jemez Salamander lives its entire lifecycle on land. This salamander eats ants, flies, beetles, mites, and snails. |
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Canyon treefrog, Hyla arenicolor
In the spring, the walls of White Rock canyon echo with the call ("ba-a-a") of the Canyon treefrog. This frog is camouflaged, and its color depends of the rocks to which it clings. The tips of the toes are expanded into small adhesive disks that allow them to cling tightly. The size varies, but these frogs are smaller than the palm of one's hand. The frog breeds in streams, in potholes in solid rock, and in rain pools on rock cliffs. |
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Western chorus frog, Pseudacris triseriata
This is a brown, olive green, or grayish frog with a dark stripe that extends through the nostril to the groin. It is small, less than two inches, but it has a mighty loud voice, and in the early spring (April-March) the "crrrreeek" or "prrreep" (similar to the sound made by running a fingernail over the small teeth of a pocket comb) can be heard in areas where there is slow moving water. |
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Woodhouse's Toad, Bufo woodhousii
This large toad can be identified by its dry skin covered with many warts of different sizes. The overall body color is patterned olive green or greenish over a darker color with a light stripe down the middle of the back. The belly is whitish, many times spotted dark on the chest between the forelegs. It lives near permanent water and rests in shallow burrows during the day. |
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Spadefoot toad, Spea spp.
There are two species of spadefoot toads that may be found in New Mexico, the New Mexico spadefoot and the Plains spadefoot. All spadefoots have smooth skin and darkened horn spades on their hind feet. They have vertical pupils in their eyes. The species is largely nocturnal and spends most of its life buried in soil, emerging to breed only when conditions are right. Spadefoot toads are adapted to arid conditions. When the summer temperature and moisture is just right they will quickly breed and produce hundreds of tadpoles. Some years they do not breed at all.
(picture of toad and close up of spade) |
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