Amphibians

The western toad is one of the only amphibians found in the park.

USFWS Photo

Amphibians in the desert? Yes, there are three species that have been seen here at Craters of the Moon. Each of these is uniquely adapted to the harsh environment of the sagebrush desert. The Pacific tree frog has a very short tadpole period. Tree frogs can hatch and develop into adult frogs capable of leaving the water in as little as three weeks. This is the shortest breeding time of any frog. This short period of time allows this species to breed in snowmelt puddles and then migrate to more substantial bodies of water or even hibernate for the rest of the year. Tree frogs have been observed taking advantage of snowmelt on kipukas (islands of vegetation in the lava flows) nearly two miles from permanent water.

Although Western toads are the only species of toad that has been confirmed to live at Craters of the Moon, it is likely that Great Basin spadefoot toads are found in the park as well. Western toads can be found along streams and small lakes such as Lava Lake and Carey Marsh. After several months in the water as tadpoles, the toads develop into adults and leave the water. They do not return to the water until they lay eggs in the spring. The rest of the year they spend in the moist ground underneath wooded areas along streams. Great Basin spadefoot toads are very unusual. They are able to survive drought and desert like conditions by drying out and entering a state of near death for years at a time. As the desert dries out in the early summer these toads burrow into the mud where they can actually dessicate which means most of the water will leave their bodies. This is more than hibernation the toad actually shrivels up and all metabolic activity stops (the frog begins to die). They can remain this way for over 10 years waiting for that occasional wet spring when the temporary ponds and puddles they breed in return. With the shortest breeding time of any amphibian in the world they can go from egg to adult toad in as little as two weeks if their ponds start to dry up. Just before the ponds totally dry up they burrow into the mud, go to sleep and shrivel up starting the whole process over.

Several other species of frogs and salamanders have been reported in the park but their presence has not been confirmed.

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

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Species attribute definitions

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