Identification Troubles.

[Sarah42]

Hey everybody!

So, I have a wee bit of a mystery on my hands. I was playing with my sister's kids in the back yard, when my niece ran a bit too far into the bottom of the yard, which is notoriously wet and squishy in spring: she sank ankle deep into the mud. When I went to rescue her shoe, I found that the usually damp place was unusually saturated, and a small vernal pool had been formed. Almost directly next to her shoe, I spotted a mass of various amphibian eggs.

Some were clearly defined translucent spheres, with tiny black fetuses that looked like pinheads loosely suspended in a liquid mucus like substance (no foam). The others were two softball sized tough pouches, so opaque and milky that it was difficult to make out the eggs inside. Things seemed great at first: we came back to visit the pool over several days, and watched some of the tadpoles hatch. Things began to go down hill soon after, though. It didn't rain at all for several days together, and the pool began to shrink rapidly. The water seemed to all be settling lower down the garden, and the tadpoles were quickly running out of space. Then, one day I went down and the eggs that remained were sitting exposed on the mud, and the tadpoles were crushed together in about a square foot of quarter inch deep water. I couldn't help myself. I grabbed all the eggs I could, as well as netting as many tadpoles as I could (which has turned out to be about 150.) With the help of the kids, I set up a kind of holding tank for them in a ten gallon I had going spare, and gave them about six inches of water, spring grass (pulled up by hand) and a collection of sticks and so on to rest on.

The remaining loose eggs hatched without difficulty and have seemed healthy. The egg pouches, which I believe I have identified as mole salamander eggs, remain unhatched. However, as they are supposed to take many weeks to mature and hatch, I'm trying not to worry. The pouch is less hard now and the fetuses are definitely larger, so I know they are still alive. But enough about them, this is a frog forum.

The tadpoles thrived and grew, and are now approximately 2-3 weeks old. They became much too large to keep in the ten gallon tank, but seeing as their pool is now totally dry and gone, I opted to bring them inside to a much larger tank for observation. Once I can identify them, I will put them in an appropriate habitat as they out grow the enclosure, until I have only a few adults remaining. A year from now, they will all be reintroduced to the wild.

As I said, It's pretty vital that I figure out what they are, and I am at a bit of a loss.

Here's the facts:

They were found in a vernal pool, in the woods of a mountainous region of the east coast. There are no permanent or semi-permanent bodies of water within one mile, moving or still.
They are more delicate and have different coloration from any tadpole I've ever raised as a kid, all of which turned out to be American Bullfrogs.
They eat algae voraciously and seemingly exclusively. They haven't seemed much interested in any little invertebrates; the larval forms of insects in their outside tank seemed totally unmolested. They are eating algae off plants, live and dead, without actually seeming to damage or consume any part of the plant; just cleaning it of algae.
Their underbellies are 100% translucent. Not only is the gut system visible, but a number of other vital organs, including a tiny heart beat. I can see this with my naked eye whenever they swim close to the glass and are showing their bellies. They are now a sort of light brown, with sparkling gold flecks of color between the transition from the brown at the top to the clear at the bottom.
In spring, and through most of the summer, the sound of singing frogs in the forest is deafening. I'm going out on a limb and guessing they, and my new friends may be treefrogs, but I'm really not that sure.

And here are some pictures:








If anyone has any guesses about the species, or suggestions for their care, please, please let me know.

[UncleChester]

I'm going to guess that they are Wood Frogs, Rana sylvatica. Gold flecks, transparency, tail pattern, and time of year are making this my guess. They eyes also look like they're dorsal, but I could be wrong. This is a wood frog tadpole:


Wood Frog Tadpole by Jelly Brain, on Flickr

It hit land about 4 weeks after this stage, so no matter what I'd expect you'll have an easy ID in a few weeks.

Some handy ID links:

Your state frogs/toads: Discover Maryland's Herps - Wildlife and Heritage Service - Maryland Department of Natural Resources
A complex tadpole key: USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center "Tadpoles of the United States and Canada: A Tutorial and Key"
The tutorial for the above key (explains the anatomy bits): North American Tadpoles
A small chart of common tads: Tadpole Identification Table
The SEARMIT tadpole guide: http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/armi/Guid...dpoleGuide.pdf


150 of anything will be tough to raise- I'd look to send most of them out as soon as their tails are absorbed. Make absolutely sure that once the front legs start to 'pop', ideally a little before just in case you miss it, that they have an easy way out of the water. They like to drown themselves when transitioning.

Anyway, good luck with your charges!

[Sarah42]

I've done some reading from what you have sent me, and I am not so sure. I mean, I acknowledge your better opinion, because you are almost certainly more experienced than I am in such things, but I am fairly certain my tadpole's eyes are lateral....

They are wide set when viewed directly from above, and they protrude in little bumps in almost every direction. They appear three dimensional and not set into the head from both the sides and can be seen peeking over the top of the head. I tried to get a good picture to see if you think I am right, but seeing as their bodies are less than a cm long, a good picture of a pin prick eye is hard to do.

From the tadpole chart you sent me, this would signify some variety of tree frog, would it not?

[crazy]

I'm going to guess that they are Wood Frogs, Rana sylvatica. Gold flecks, transparency, tail pattern, and time of year are making this my guess. They eyes also look like they're dorsal, but I could be wrong. This is a wood frog tadpole:


Wood Frog Tadpole by Jelly Brain, on Flickr

It hit land about 4 weeks after this stage, so no matter what I'd expect you'll have an easy ID in a few weeks.

Some handy ID links:

Your state frogs/toads: Discover Maryland's Herps - Wildlife and Heritage Service - Maryland Department of Natural Resources
A complex tadpole key: USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center "Tadpoles of the United States and Canada: A Tutorial and Key"
The tutorial for the above key (explains the anatomy bits): North American Tadpoles
A small chart of common tads: Tadpole Identification Table
The SEARMIT tadpole guide: http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/armi/Guid...dpoleGuide.pdf


150 of anything will be tough to raise- I'd look to send most of them out as soon as their tails are absorbed. Make absolutely sure that once the front legs start to 'pop', ideally a little before just in case you miss it, that they have an easy way out of the water. They like to drown themselves when transitioning.

Anyway, good luck with your charges!

I've done some reading from what you have sent me, and I am not so sure. I mean, I acknowledge your better opinion, because you are almost certainly more experienced than I am in such things, but I am fairly certain my tadpole's eyes are lateral....

They are wide set when viewed directly from above, and they protrude in little bumps in almost every direction. They appear three dimensional and not set into the head from both the sides and can be seen peeking over the top of the head. I tried to get a good picture to see if you think I am right, but seeing as their bodies are less than a cm long, a good picture of a pin prick eye is hard to do.

From the tadpole chart you sent me, this would signify some variety of tree frog, would it not?

Not sure if they are wood frog or not, but that is only going based on the pictures. Did it rain recently before you found the tadpoles? Are the tadpoles still black and have their back legs in already or have the morphed yet? Finally what part of Maryland are you in? I ask these questions because if it rained recently before you found them, the tadpoles are still blackish or have morphed already, and you live on the eastern part of Maryland. They could possibly be an eastern spadefoot toad, which if I am correct they are a rare toad up there as they have a limited range in that state and more wide spread in the eastern side of Maryland. They are known to be explosive breeders and usually only breed during a heavy rain and for some reason only in puddles, which can dry up quickly. I just had some of these toads morph into little toadlets over the past few days. Had them only about two weeks. The eastern spadefoot toad tadpoles underside is completely transparent until they grown in their legs. They are odd little toads, however they are neat.

[Sarah42]

I don't live in Eastern MD, I live in the Appalachian mountains.... and it had been raining off and on for several days before I found the eggs, but not particularly heavily that I can remember. In any event, the tadpoles are not black and have no limbs at this stage. Also, the eggs were suspended in some kind of goop. I was given to understand most toads lay their eggs in string like formations.

[crazy]

I don't live in Eastern MD, I live in the Appalachian mountains.... and it had been raining off and on for several days before I found the eggs, but not particularly heavily that I can remember. In any event, the tadpoles are not black and have no limbs at this stage. Also, the eggs were suspended in some kind of goop. I was given to understand most toads lay their eggs in string like formations.

Most toads do lay their eggs in a string, but I have found that eastern spadefoot toads will also lay their eggs in a bundle like a frog. Since they are not black and have no limbs even after a couple of weeks then they probably are not eastern spadefoot toads. My tadpoles from one of these toads started growing their back legs by the beginning of the second week of having them and morphed by the 3rd week. They literally hatched the day after they were laid. Like you said they are most likely a type of tree frog or maybe a wood frog then.

[UncleChester]

I've done some reading from what you have sent me, and I am not so sure. I mean, I acknowledge your better opinion, because you are almost certainly more experienced than I am in such things, but I am fairly certain my tadpole's eyes are lateral....

They are wide set when viewed directly from above, and they protrude in little bumps in almost every direction. They appear three dimensional and not set into the head from both the sides and can be seen peeking over the top of the head. I tried to get a good picture to see if you think I am right, but seeing as their bodies are less than a cm long, a good picture of a pin prick eye is hard to do.

From the tadpole chart you sent me, this would signify some variety of tree frog, would it not?

Experience is not always a substitute for having the tadpole in hand, and I wouldn't claim to be an experienced tadpole identifier in any case. You're right, lateral eyes would rule out wood frogs and point to tree or chorus frogs. I raised a few wood frogs last year and in the first few weeks the eyes weren't convincingly dorsal, but as they aged it became more and more obvious. I could very well be wrong about your little guys. Here's one from last year to show the eyes from above. It not quite straight down, when directly above the eyes would add nothing to the outline:


Wood Frog Tadpole, Top View by Jelly Brain, on Flickr

Definitely look into your other early spring breeders, you have a few chorus frogs that might fit the bill (and have lateral eyes). Spring Peepers may be out as it sounds like the eggs may have been in a largish mass? I'm not too familiar with your other chorus frogs.

Tadpoles can be tough, and sometimes you end up having to resort to examining the mouth parts and rows of teeth. Or waiting a few weeks for them to start to morph also does the trick.

[Sarah42]

Well, I guess I'll just have to wait the little guys out a few weeks and see what they look like then!

[Frogman1031]

I think you are right! So small, once you see the trademark "X" on its back you will know for sure


The Frog chooses its owner. Treat your life-long friend with respect and care and it will never disappoint!

[LilyPad]

I think you are right also! Looks a lot like my spring peepers when they were newly morphed -- http://www.frogforum.net/blogs/lilyp...-crucifer.html Lots of pics in that blog post when they were brand new. I loved those little buggers!

[Strider18]

Very pretty frog Good luck with your frog!