Table Of ContentFROGS
and
TOADS
of alabama
Philip Henry Gosse as a
young man of twenty- nine,
the year of his return to
England from Alabama,
painted by his brother,
William Gosse. (1839,
watercolor on ivory, courtesy
of the National Portrait
Gallery—London)
ADVISORY PANEL Dr. Gary R. Mullen, Entomology, Auburn University (Emeritus)
Dr. L. J. Davenport, Botany, Samford University
Elberta Gibbs Reid, Birmingham Audubon Society
Dr. E. O. Wilson, Zoology, Harvard University (Emeritus)
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Philip Henry Gosse (1810–1888) was an English naturalist and
illustrator who spent eight months of 1838 on the Alabama frontier,
teaching planters’ children in Dallas County and studying the native
flora and fauna. Years later, he published the now-classic Letters from
Alabama, Chiefly Relating to Natural History, which draws on detailed
reports sent back from his visit and features twenty-nine important
black-and-white illustrations. During his time in Alabama, Gosse
also produced forty-nine watercolor plates of various plant and animal
species, mainly insects, now available in Philip Henry Gosse: Science
and Art in “Letters from Alabama” and “Entomologia Alabamensis.”
The Gosse Nature Guides are a series of natural history
guidebooks prepared by experts on the plants and animals of Alabama
and designed for the outdoor enthusiast and ecology layperson. Because
Alabama is one of the nation’s most biodiverse states, its residents
and visitors require accurate, accessible field guides to interpret the
wealth of life that thrives within the state’s borders. The Gosse Nature
Guides are named to honor Philip Henry Gosse’s early appreciation of
Alabama’s natural wealth and to highlight the valuable legacy of his
recorded observations. Look for other volumes in the Gosse Nature
Guides series at www.uapress.ua.edu.
FROGS
and
TOADS
al abama
of
CRAIG GUYER MARK A. BAILEY
and
with line drawings by CLAIRE C. FLOYD
The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487- 0380
uapress.ua.edu
Copyright © 2023 by the University of Alabama Press
All rights reserved.
Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should be addressed
to the University of Alabama Press.
Typeface: Scala Pro
Cover image: Pine Barrens Treefrog; courtesy of Aubrey M. Heupel
Cover design: Michele Myatt Quinn
Cataloging- in- Publication data is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978- 0- 8173- 6066- 5
E- ISBN: 978- 0- 8173- 9429- 5
We dedicate this vol ume
to the memory of
ROBERT H. MOUNT,
the author of the original
field guide to amphibians
and reptiles of Alabama and
an important collaborator in
our efforts to update that vol-
ume. Bob’s original book was
widely acclaimed for its scien-
tific rigor and its accessibility
to novices. He honored us by
requesting that we revise the
volume and was persistent in his efforts to assist us in finishing that
project. Unfortunately, Bob passed away on September 10, 2017. His
passing prevented his involvement as a coauthor, as he had been on
the reptile volumes. Nevertheless, his influence on us was great and is
present throughout this volume. Those who know Bob and his work
will recognize his imprint, and we hope our efforts kindle the interest
in nature that characterized Bob’s life.
In going, I had heard, from a wet marshy place beside the road, a
continued and most deafening shrieking, extremely shrill and loud.
When I came to the place in returning, the noise was still kept up,
and my curiosity was much excited. I watched, and had reason to
believe it was produced by a small dusky species of frog, for, on ap-
proaching the spots whence it proceeded, it instantly ceased, at least
there, and two or three of these frogs would dash into the water and
dive. Wishing much to witness the act of uttering the sound, (which
was no easy matter, for, as I have said, it ceased on the approach of a
foot,) I crept cautiously to the edge of one of the little pools, in which
I saw two or three frogs: they were very shy, and kept under water, but
I waited patiently, quiet and motionless, a long time, taking care not
to stir hand or foot. At length, one of them, taking courage, raised his
head and half of his body out of water, sitting up, as it were, and rest-
ing on the toes of his forefeet, and thus uttered the piercing shriek,
which had a kind of cracked or ringing sound, somewhat like that of
a penny trumpet. When about to cry, he first fluttered the skin of the
throat a few times, then suddenly inflated it, till it was like a blown
bladder, perfectly round, as big as his head, which continued so all
the time of the shriek, about four or five seconds. I saw him do it
many times close to my feet: it was a very singular sight.
— Philip Henry Gosse, Letters from Alabama, Letter V, Dallas County,
June 16, 1838
Contents
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
The Frog and Toad Fauna of Alabama 2
Indigenous Species 2
Introduced Species 4
Taxonomic Changes and Problems 6
Climate of Alabama 6
Alabama Geography 8
Wetlands 10
Important Geographic Units 13
The Coastal Plain 14
Lower Coastal Plain 15
Red Hills 20
Black Belt 21
Fall Line Hills 23
The Upland Regions 25
Piedmont 25
Talladega Upland 27
Ridge and Valley 27
Appalachian Plateaus 28
Tennessee Valley 31
Highland Rim 32
Species Accounts 33
Keys 33
Names 34
Photographs 34
