Ascaphus truei
Silhouette: Sarah Werning · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The tailed frogs are two species of frogs in the genus Ascaphus, the only taxon in the family Ascaphidae. The "tail" in the name is actually an extension of the male cloaca. The tail is one of two distinctive anatomical features adapting the species to life in fast-flowing streams. These are the only North American frog species that reproduce by internal fertilization. They are among the most primitive known families of frogs.
Its scientific name means 'without a spade', from the privative prefix a- and the Ancient Greek skaphís (σκαφίς, 'spade, shovel'), referring to the metatarsal spade, which these frogs do not have. However, in that year, Nielson, Lohman, and Sullivan published evidence that promoted the Rocky Mountain tailed frog (Ascaphus montanus) from a subspecies to its own species. Since then, the former species has been formally called the coastal tailed frog.
The genus Ascaphus, through mtDNA comparisons, has been grouped into a clade with the genus Leiopelma creating a sister taxon to all modern anurans. Wikipedia →
Recording0:07
United States · 2024
© Mara · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Coastal Tailed Frog sighting in Vancouver on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 11th most-seen of the 11 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Coastal Tailed Frog in Vancouver on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Coastal Tailed Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Vancouver, in our data
Vancouver is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Coastal Tailed Frog sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Coastal Tailed Frog that you can see in Vancouver (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are Pacific chorus frog (about 20%), American Bullfrog (about 20%) and Green Frog (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Coastal Tailed Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Vancouver (13 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
