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Spring Peepers call after heavy rain on days in late winter /early spring in Georgia. This native frog measures less than 1 inch.

It’s been a harsh winter. Can you imagine how cold it must seem for the frogs and salamanders? I am amazed by how they survive even in much colder parts of the world, and how they have survived most conditions, long before humans existed. Amphibians are hardy in some ways and delicate in others.

There are more than 6,500 species of amphibians which inhabit all continents except Antarctica. Most go through metamorphosis –several life stages from an egg to a juvenile to an adult form. During the spring, you’ll see jelly-like eggs, and then tadpoles, in a temporary pool, small pond or stream. And then in summer they grow arms and legs and emerge as frogs. The word amphibian

Amphibians Are Important to Our Habitat, too!by Christie Hill, CNC Naturalist Coordinator and Certified Interpretive Trainer, CIHT, CIG

means “two lives.” All of them begin their lives in water with gills and tails. As they grow, they develop lungs and legs for their life on land.

Most amphibians have slimy thin skin that is permeable (allowing liquids and gases to pass through it easily). Their skin is important for two reasons. First, it helps them breathe, since oxygen passes easily through it. This also means that they lose a lot of water through their skin. This is why most amphibians are found in moist or humid environments, where they can replenish their water reserves.

All amphibians are ectothermic (cold-blooded) animals. An ectotherm is an animal that cannot generate its own body heat, but warms itself primarily by obtaining heat from the environment.

To survive the winter in Georgia Spring Peepers, Wood Frogs, Green Frogs and others bury themselves in the mud around a wetland, pond or stream.

Because frogs only bury themselves about an inch deep, some species actually freeze solid. How do they stay alive? They have special components in their body that actually act as an antifreeze. Their body converts glyco-gen into glucose*, which keeps the frog alive while it's frozen solid. When the ground becomes warm again in spring, the frogs thaw-out! Learn more. *

The richest biodiversity of reptile and amphibian species in the United States is concentrated in the Southeast. Georgia is home to approximately 80 species of amphibians, including

ent terrestrial and aquatic habitats, including mountain, upland and bottomland forests, swamps, streams, rivers, isolated wetlands, caves, as well as coastal salt marshes and the ocean.

Our State Amphibian is the Green Treefrog - medium-sized - 1.25 - 2.25 in (3.2-5.7 cm) and like other treefrogs, has long limbs, long toes and sticky toe pads. This frog is green with a white, yellow or sometimes iridescent stripe along each side of the body.

American Toads, of the family Bufonidae, are one of our most common toads. They are approximately 2 - 3.5 inches in length and are usually brown or gray, although some may even be reddish, olive, or tan. American Toads are sexually dimorphic - males are typically smaller than females and have dark throats during the breeding season. The skin of these toads is dry and densely covered with warts. You cannot get warts from touching their skin, but as with all amphibians, they are sensitive to bacteria from your hands, and depend on their moist skin to aid in respiration. Learn more about amphibian’s moist skin.

The Green Treefrog (pictured above) is our State Amphibian.

a) tadpole with a tail and gillsb) tadpole with two legsc) tadpole with four legs and a long taild) froglet with a short taile) full grown frog

An American Toad (pictured above) is one of the most common toads.

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The Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmog-nathus conanti) is one of the most common salamanders you will see in the Piedmont or northern parts of GA. It is a medium to large salamander with a moderately keeled tail, measuring 2.5 - 5 in. It usually has 6-8 pairs of golden spots on dorsum, which in adults may fuse to form a light stripe with a dark, irregular

The Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus conanti ) is pictured above.

Learn how to attract and care for amphibians in your backyard by visiting www.georgiawildlife.com/node/312.

The only Georgia amphibian with federal protection under the Endangered Species Act is the Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum)*. In addition six species of salamanders are protected by the state Endangered Wildlife Act.

There is a vital interconnectedness among habitats within an ecosystem and the native species that inhabit them (more here). Our ecosystem depends on a diversity of life to keep us healthy. Most amphibian species play the role of both predator and prey. They are important in forest stream ecosystems and provide more energy to the forest food chain than either birds or mammals, thereby keeping the delicate balance of nature. They eat insects,

of disease, including malaria. The skin of amphibians has substances -

ble medical cures for a variety of human diseases, including AIDS. Learn more.

However, one-third to one-half of the world’s known amphibian species could go extinct in our lifetime.

wild, it is a warning to other species, including humans.

While there are 2,000 to 3,000 threatened amphibian speciesability to change, such as habitat destruction and over-collection. Learn more about what you can do to help: www.amphibianark.org.*

Pictures provided by Savannah River Ecology Laboratory at www.srelherp.uga.edu and www.nature.com.

* Some information in this article is taken from the following sites. Please visit for more information: www.srelherp.uga.edu/anurans/index.htmwww.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geography-environment/reptiles-and-amphibianswww.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/amphibians

The Nature Store at CNC sells two of the most comprehensive and important books on Amphibians: Frogs and Toads of the Southeast by Dorcas and Gibbons, and Salamanders of the Southeast by Mitchell and Gibbons.

The Flatwoods Salamander is pictured above.