Animal
Carpenter frog
Lithobates virgatipes
A small Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain frog (2.5–3 inches) closely associated with Delmarva bays and other acidic, fish-free seasonal wetlands. Named for its distinctive call — a sharp double-knock that sounds like two carpenters hammering nails in alternation. The species is range-restricted to the Atlantic Coastal Plain from southern New Jersey through eastern Florida, with Delmarva-bay populations among the most northerly. State-listed of conservation concern in much of its range due to wetland loss.
Scientific
The carpenter frog (Lithobates virgatipes) is a small (2.5–3 inch) ranid frog found in acidic, fish-free, seasonally-flooded wetlands of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. The species is closely associated with [[delmarva-bay|Delmarva bays]], [[sphagnum-moss|sphagnum]]-bog systems, and pocosin wetlands.
Distinctive features: brown back with two light dorsolateral stripes; striped legs (the species name virgatipes means “striped feet”); webbed hind feet; a call that sounds like two carpenters alternately hammering nails — a rapid double-knock that can be heard for hundreds of meters.
Breeding biology depends on the seasonal flooding of acidic wetlands. Eggs are laid in spring; tadpoles develop over the summer; metamorphosis happens before the wetland dries (or, in some sites, tadpoles overwinter and metamorphose the following spring).
Conservation status
The species is state-listed of conservation concern in several states across its range. Threats include drainage of bays and pocosin wetlands for agriculture, hydrological alteration of remaining wetlands, and loss of the acidic-water conditions the species requires.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[delmarva-bay]] · [[delmarva-peninsula]]
Sources
- USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative species accounts
- [[harrington-delaware|Delaware]] Division of Fish & Wildlife
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Scientific
substrate of
- Delmarva Bay carpenter frogs depend on Delmarva-bay seasonal flooding for breeding
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