THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Anura    Leiopelmatidae  

Coastal Tailed Frog
Ascaphus truei Stejneger, 1899

Current SSAR Comments:
See comments under A. montanus. Nielson et al. (2006, Herpetologica 62: 235–258), using data from allozymes and mtDNA, reported evidence supporting recognition of two evolutionarily significant units represented by populations in the Olympic Mountains and populations south of the Umpqua River.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.09.27.14.36.32)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.33 MB

Province/State Distribution:
Canada: British Columbia
USA: California Oregon Washington

First instance(s) of published English names:
American Discoglossoid Toad (Ascaphus truei: Dickerson, Mary C. 1906. The Frog Book; North American Toads and Frogs, with Study of the Habits and Life Histories of Those of the Northeastern States. Doubleday, Page & Company, New York, New York. 253pp.); American Bell Toad (Ascaphus truei: Storer, Tracy I. 1925. A synopsis of the amphibia of California. University of California Publications in Zoology (27):1-342); American Bell Toad (Ascaphus truei: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); American Ribbed Toad (Ascaphus truei: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Bell's Toad (Ascaphus truei: Vincent, W. S. 1947. A check list of amphibians and reptiles of Crater Lake National Park. Nature Notes from Crater Lake 13():19–22); Tailed Frog (Ascaphus truei: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); California Tailed Frog (Ascaphus truei californicus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Olympic Tailed Frog (Ascaphus truei truei: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Pacific Tailed Frog (Ascaphus truei: Collins, Joseph T. and Travis W. Taggart. 2009. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians. 6th ed. The Center for North American Herpetology, Lawrence, Kansas. 44pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1899 Stejneger, Leonhard H. Description of a new genus and species of discoglossoid toad from North America. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 21():899–901
1931 Myers, George S. Ascaphus truei in Humbolt County, California, with a note on the habits of the tadpole. Copeia 1931(2):56-57
1937 Shapovalov, Leo. Third record of Ascaphus truei in California. Copeia 1937(4):(1 p.)
1943 Myers, George S. Notes on Rhyacotriton olympicus and Ascaphus truei in Humboldt County, California . Copeia 1943(2):125-126
1968 Metter, Dean E. Ascaphus and A. truei. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (69):1-2
1968 Bury, R. Bruce. The distribution of Ascaphus truei in California. Herpetologica 24(1):39-46
1969 Bury, R. Bruce, Gary M. Fellers, and Stephen B. Ruth. First records of Plethodon dunni in California, and new distributional data on Ascaphus truei, Rhyacotriton olympicus, and Hydromantes shastae. Journal of Herpetology 3(3-4):157-161
1993 Jamieson, Barrie G. M., S. Y. Lee, and Kevin Long. Ultrastructure of the spermatozoon of the internally fertilizing frog Ascaphus truei (Ascaphidae: Anura: Amphibia) with phylogenetic considerations. Herpetologica 49(1):52-65
1999 Diller, Lowell V. and Richard L. Wallace. Distribution and habitat of Ascaphus truei in streams on managed, young growth forests in north coastal California. Journal of Herpetology 33(1):71-79
1999 Bury, R. Bruce, and Michael J. Adams. Variation in age at metamorphosis across a latitudinal gradient for the tailed frog, Ascaphus truei. Herpetologica 55(2):283-291
2006 Nielson, Marilyn, Kirk Lohman, Charles H. Daugherty, Fred W. Allendorf, Kathy L. Knudsen, and Jack Sullivan. Allozyme and mitochondrial DNA variation in the Tailed Frog (Anura: Ascaphus): The influence of geography and gene flow. Herpetologica 62(3):235-258

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 24 March 2025 20:25 CT