Eastern Narrowmouth Toad (Gastrophryne carolinensis)

Eastern Narrowmouth Toad Call

Description: A small, flattened frog (2.5–4 cm; 1–1.5 in) with a sharply pointed snout and a distinctive fold of skin across the back of the head. Dorsal coloration is highly variable, ranging from gray to brown, and may change with mood or over short time periods. The venter is typically heavily mottled.

Range and Habitat: It occurs throughout the southeastern United States but is absent from high elevations of the Appalachian Mountains. It occupies a wide variety of habitats where moisture and cover are available. Breeding occurs in temporary, fishless wetlands, such as ephemeral pools, roadside ditches, and large puddles.

Habits: Secretive and fossorial; most often found under logs, boards, or debris in woodland habitats. Ants heavily dominate the diet, though other small invertebrates are consumed. Breeding occurs on rainy summer nights, when adults congregate at ephemeral water bodies. Males typically call with only the snout exposed above the water, making them difficult to locate. Eggs are laid in floating clusters, and tadpoles metamorphose in 20–70 days.

Call: A long, nasal, high-pitched “waaaaaaaaaaaaah.”

Conservation Status: Widespread and abundant across the Southeast. Not protected and currently not of conservation concern.