Table Of Content

FROGS and TOADS of alabama Philip Henry Gosse as a young man of twenty- nine, the year of his return to England from Alabama, painted by his brother, William Gosse. (1839, watercolor on ivory, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery—London) ADVISORY PANEL Dr. Gary R. Mullen, Entomology, Auburn University (Emeritus) Dr. L. J. Davenport, Botany, Samford University Elberta Gibbs Reid, Birmingham Audubon Society Dr. E. O. Wilson, Zoology, Harvard University (Emeritus) INAUGURAL SPONSORS Birmingham Audubon Society Mary Carolyn Gibbs Boothby Lida Inge Hill Fay Belt Ireland Henry S. Lynn Jr. Medical Management Plus, Inc. Dr. Connie S. and Dr. James A. Pittman Jr. Elberta Gibbs Reid Frances B. and James W. Shepherd Becky H. and William E. Smith Jr. Virginia B. and William M. Spencer III Ann A. and Donald B. Sweeney Jr. Dr. Cameron M. and Judge J. Scott Vowell Alice M. and N. Thomas Williams Harriett Harton Wright Louise A. and John N. Wrinkle Philip Henry Gosse (1810–1888) was an English naturalist and illustrator who spent eight months of 1838 on the Alabama frontier, teaching planters’ children in Dallas County and studying the native flora and fauna. Years later, he published the now-classic Letters from Alabama, Chiefly Relating to Natural History, which draws on detailed reports sent back from his visit and features twenty-nine important black-and-white illustrations. During his time in Alabama, Gosse also produced forty-nine watercolor plates of various plant and animal species, mainly insects, now available in Philip Henry Gosse: Science and Art in “Letters from Alabama” and “Entomologia Alabamensis.” The Gosse Nature Guides are a series of natural history guidebooks prepared by experts on the plants and animals of Alabama and designed for the outdoor enthusiast and ecology layperson. Because Alabama is one of the nation’s most biodiverse states, its residents and visitors require accurate, accessible field guides to interpret the wealth of life that thrives within the state’s borders. The Gosse Nature Guides are named to honor Philip Henry Gosse’s early appreciation of Alabama’s natural wealth and to highlight the valuable legacy of his recorded observations. Look for other volumes in the Gosse Nature Guides series at www.uapress.ua.edu. FROGS and TOADS al abama of CRAIG GUYER MARK A. BAILEY and with line drawings by CLAIRE C. FLOYD The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487- 0380 uapress.ua.edu Copyright © 2023 by the University of Alabama Press All rights reserved. Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should be addressed to the University of Alabama Press. Typeface: Scala Pro Cover image: Pine Barrens Treefrog; courtesy of Aubrey M. Heupel Cover design: Michele Myatt Quinn Cataloging- in- Publication data is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978- 0- 8173- 6066- 5 E- ISBN: 978- 0- 8173- 9429- 5 We dedicate this vol ume to the memory of ROBERT H. MOUNT, the author of the original field guide to amphibians and reptiles of Alabama and an important collaborator in our efforts to update that volume. Bob’s original book was widely acclaimed for its scien- tific rigor and its accessibility to novices. He honored us by requesting that we revise the volume and was persistent in his efforts to assist us in finishing that project. Unfortunately, Bob passed away on September 10, 2017. His passing prevented his involvement as a coauthor, as he had been on the reptile volumes. Nevertheless, his influence on us was great and is present throughout this volume. Those who know Bob and his work will recognize his imprint, and we hope our efforts kindle the interest in nature that characterized Bob’s life. In going, I had heard, from a wet marshy place beside the road, a continued and most deafening shrieking, extremely shrill and loud. When I came to the place in returning, the noise was still kept up, and my curiosity was much excited. I watched, and had reason to believe it was produced by a small dusky species of frog, for, on ap- proaching the spots whence it proceeded, it instantly ceased, at least there, and two or three of these frogs would dash into the water and dive. Wishing much to witness the act of uttering the sound, (which was no easy matter, for, as I have said, it ceased on the approach of a foot,) I crept cautiously to the edge of one of the little pools, in which I saw two or three frogs: they were very shy, and kept under water, but I waited patiently, quiet and motionless, a long time, taking care not to stir hand or foot. At length, one of them, taking courage, raised his head and half of his body out of water, sitting up, as it were, and rest- ing on the toes of his forefeet, and thus uttered the piercing shriek, which had a kind of cracked or ringing sound, somewhat like that of a penny trumpet. When about to cry, he first fluttered the skin of the throat a few times, then suddenly inflated it, till it was like a blown bladder, perfectly round, as big as his head, which continued so all the time of the shriek, about four or five seconds. I saw him do it many times close to my feet: it was a very singular sight. — Philip Henry Gosse, Letters from Alabama, Letter V, Dallas County, June 16, 1838 Contents Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 The Frog and Toad Fauna of Alabama 2 Indigenous Species 2 Introduced Species 4 Taxonomic Changes and Problems 6 Climate of Alabama 6 Alabama Geography 8 Wetlands 10 Important Geographic Units 13 The Coastal Plain 14 Lower Coastal Plain 15 Red Hills 20 Black Belt 21 Fall Line Hills 23 The Upland Regions 25 Piedmont 25 Talladega Upland 27 Ridge and Valley 27 Appalachian Plateaus 28 Tennessee Valley 31 Highland Rim 32 Species Accounts 33 Keys 33 Names 34 Photographs 34