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Tadpoles (Order Anura)

Welcome to our Frog Guide for Virginia! There are 28 native frog species in the commonwealth; and yes, toads are a family within frogs.

Frequency Rating: Ratings are based on how common each species is across their range within Virginia. Some common species may be incredibly abundant within their small range, while some may be common in most of their range but rare in a small portion of their range. Some rarer species may be abundant in pockets of their range, but are overall rare.
Common = C     Uncommon = U     Rare = R     Incredibly Rare = I

True Toads (Bufonidae)

American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: Eastern American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus americanus)
Size: 2 - 3.5 inches
Range: Statewide, excluding the Eastern Shore and the far southeastern corner
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 2 - 3 inches
Range: Almost statewide, but absent from parts of the Blue Ridge
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Southern Toad (Anaxyrus terrestris)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 2 - 3 inches
Range: Southern Coastal Plain west to Lunenburg Co.
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Oak Toad (Anaxyrus quercicus)   R

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .75 - 1.25 inches
Range: Small portion of the southern Coastal Plain
Status: Tier II

Treefrogs and Allies (Hylidae)

Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .5 - 1.5 inches
Range: Found in the Eastern 2/3rds of the state
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus)   U

Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .5 - 1.5 inches
Range: Southern Coastal Plain
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .75 - 1.25 inches
Range: Statewide
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Mountain Chorus Frog (Pseudacris brachyphona)   R

Picture
​© Josh Ward
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .75 - 1.25 inches
Range: Southwest Virginia
Status: Tier II

Upland Chorus Frog (Pseudacris feriarum)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .75 - 1.5 inches
Range: Piedmont and western Coastal Plain
Status: Least Concern
More Info

New Jersey Chorus Frog (Pseudacris kalmi)   U

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .75 - 1.5 inches
Range: Northern Eastern Shore
Status: Tier IV

Southern Chorus Frog (Pseudacris nigrita)   R

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .75 - 1.5 inches
Range: Very small area of the southern Coastal Plain
Status: Tier IV

Brimley's Chorus Frog (Pseudacris brimleyi)   R

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .75 - 1.5 inches
Range: Randomly distributed in the southern Coastal Plain
Status: Least Concern

Little Grass Frog (Pseudacris ocularis)   U

Picture
​​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: .5 inches
Range: Southern Coastal Plain
Status: Tier IV

"Gray Treefrog Complex" Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) & Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 1.25 - 2 inches
Range: Statewide
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Barking Treefrog (Hyla gratiosa)   R

Picture
​© Ty Smith
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 2 - 3 inches
Range: Southeastern Virginia
Status: Tier II

Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 1.25 - 2.25 inches
Range: Eastern Virginia
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Squirrel Treefrog (Hyla squirella)   C

​
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 1.5 - 2 inches
Range: Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore | Not an unusual hitchhiker to campgrounds
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Pine Woods Treefrog (Hyla femoralis)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 1 - 1.5 inches
Range: Southeastern Virginia 
Status: Least Concern

Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis)       Exotic Transplant

Picture
​© Ty Smith
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 2.5 - 5 inches
Range: Hitchhiker on plant shipments | Shows up occasionally at garden centers 
Status: Introduced

True Frogs (Ranidae​)

Carpenter Frog (Lithobates virgatipes)   R

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 1.5 - 2.5  inches
Range: Small pockets along the​ Coastal Plain
Status: Tier III

American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 3 - 6 inches
Range: Statewide
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 2 - 4 inches
Range: Statewide
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)   U

Picture
​© Ty Smith
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 1.5 - 2.75 inches
Range: Statewide
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
​Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 1.75 - 3 inches
Range: Statewide, rare on the Eastern Shore
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus)   C

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 2 - 3.5 inches
Range: Found in the eastern half of the state; Introduced to Smyth Co.
Status: Least Concern
More Info

Kauffeld's Leopard Frog (Lithobates kauffeldi)   R

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 2 - 3.5 inches
Range: Coastal Plain and eastern edge of the Piedmont
Status: Least Concern

Sheep Frogs (Microhylidae)

Eastern Narrowmouth (Gastrophryne carolinensis)   U

Picture
​© Ty Smith
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: ~1 inch
Range: Eastern Shore, Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Cumberland Plateau 
Status: Least Concern
More Info

American Spadefoots (Scaphiopodidae)

Eastern Spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii)   R

​© Ty Smith
Picture
Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 1.75 - 2.25 inches
Range: All of the non mountainous regions, and a bit of the Blue Ridge
Status: Tier IV
More Info
Report Spadefoots
Picture
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