Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog

Where they live

• View a map of where they live
• Recent evidence has separated this species from Ascaphus truei and a separate GAP map has not been made
• In Washington State are found in the Blue mountains of eastern Washington
• Rocky forest streams, prefer fast moving clear water, rarely found away from water and only on really wet nights

Breeding

• Breeding season is in the Fall and eggs are laid in the Spring/Summer
• Eggs are laid in strings underneath big rocks
• Tadpoles have a large sucker mouth to cling to rocks in fast water streams
• Can take 4-5 years for tadpoles to complete metamorphosis

Cool Biology Facts

• One of the longest living species of frogs, they can live up to 15-20 years!
• One of the only frogs in the world that have internal fertilization
• Males do not vocalize, possibly because the females cannot hear calls over fast moving water in streams
• They have reduced lungs (breathe mostly through skin) which helps to limit buoyancy in water.
• Fingertips are hardened like claws to help move around in the rocks on the fast moving water.

Threats

• Main threats include habitat destruction due to logging and roads. View their status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.