This is a list of amphibians of Pennsylvania as listed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.[1] Notes on ranges provided by Pennsylvania Amphibian & Reptile Survey.[2] Pennsylvania has 41 native species of amphibians, with 23 salamanders and newts, and 18 species of frogs and toads. Of these species, 13 are of special concern, 2 are threatened, 6 are endangered, and 1 species is extirpated.
Family: Ambystomatidae - mole salamanders
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambystoma jeffersonianum (Green, 1827) | Species of special concern | Females of this species can form a unisexual form that cannot be identified to species level without DNA testing | Statewide, seemingly absent from near Philadelphia and the surrounding counties | |||
| Ambystoma laterale Hallowell, 1856 | Endangered | Females of this species can form a unisexual form that cannot be identified to species level without DNA testing[3] | Allegheny National Forest and surrounding areas; also a single record from Crawford County[4] and Northampton County | |||
| Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw, 1802) | Abundant | Statewide | ||||
| Ambystoma opacum (Gravenhorst, 1807) | Species of special concern | Primarily southeastern counties, extends into central counties, scattered records in eastern counties | ||||
| Ambystoma tigrinum (Green, 1825) | Extirpated[5] | Females of this species can form a unisexual form that cannot be identified to species level without DNA testing | Formerly known from Allegheny County and Cumberland County, has not been recorded in over a century |
Family: Cryptobranchidae - giant salamanders
Family: Plethodontidae - lungless salamanders
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aneides aeneus (Cope & Packard, 1881) | Threatened | Fayette County | ||||
| Desmognathus fuscus (Rafinesque, 1820) | Abundant | Statewide | ||||
| Desmognathus monticola Dunn, 1916 | Species of special concern | Southwestern counties | ||||
| Desmognathus ochrophaeus Cope, 1859 | Abundant | Statewide except southeast and some central counties | ||||
| Eurycea bislineata (Green, 1818) | Abundant | Statewide | ||||
| Eurycea longicauda longicauda (Green, 1818) | Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide, but notably absent from Wayne County and Erie County | |||
| Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus (Green, 1827) | Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide except southeast | |||
| Hemidactylium scutatum (Tschudi, 1838) | Abundant | Statewide | ||||
| Plethodon cinereus (Green, 1818) | Abundant | Statewide | ||||
| Plethodon electromorphus Highton, 1999 | Species of special concern | Southwestern counties | ||||
| Plethodon glutinosus (Green, 1818) | Abundant | Statewide | ||||
| Plethodon hoffmani Highton, 1972 | Species of special concern | Central and south-central counties | ||||
| Plethodon wehrlei Fowler and Dunn, 1917 | Abundant | North-central and west-central counties | ||||
| Pseudotriton montanus montanus Baird, 1850 | Endangered | Nominate subspecies | Franklin County and Cumberland County | |||
| Pseudotriton ruber ruber (Latreille, 1801) | Abundant | Nominate subspecies | Statewide |
Family: Proteidae - Mudpuppies
Family: Salamandridae - Newts
Family: Bufonidae - true toads
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaxyrus americanus americanus (Holbrook, 1836) | Abundant | Statewide | ||||
| Anaxyrus fowleri (Hinckley, 1882) | Species of special concern | Primarily eastern, with some scattered central and western observations and a notable population on Presque Isle State Park in Erie County[6] |
Family: Hylidae - tree frogs
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acris crepitans Baird, 1854 | Endangered | If subspecies are recognized, it would be the nominate subspecies Acris crepitans crepitans | Southeastern, south-central, and Luzerne County | |||
| Dryophytes chrysoscelis (Cope, 1880) | Species of special concern | Usually indistinguishable from Dryophytes versicolor without DNA analysis or analysis of mating call[7] Sometimes placed in the genus Hyla | Southeastern and southwestern counties | |||
| Dryophytes versicolor (Le Conte, 1825) | Abundant | Usually indistinguishable from Dryophytes chrysoscelis without DNA analysis or analysis of mating call Sometimes placed in the genus Hyla | Statewide, less common in southwestern counties | |||
| Pseudacris brachyphona (Cope, 1889) | Species of special concern | Southwestern counties | ||||
| Pseudacris crucifer (Wied-Neuwied, 1838) | Abundant | Statewide | ||||
| Pseudacris feriarum Baird, 1854 | Species of special concern | Central and south-central | ||||
| New Jersey chorus frog | Pseudacris kalmi Harper, 1855 | Endangered | Bucks County and Montgomery County | |||
| Pseudacris triseriata Wied-Neuwied, 1838 | Species of special concern | Not officially seen in Pennsylvania since 1958 | Western counties |
Family: Ranidae - true frogs
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Status | Notes | Distribution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lithobates catesbeianus (Shaw, 1802) | Abundant | Statewide | ||||
| Green frog | Lithobates clamitans (Rafinesque, 1820) | Abundant | If subspecies are recognized, the Pennsylvania subspecies would be Lithobates clamitans melanota | Statewide | ||
| Lithobates kauffeldi (Feinberg et al., 2014) | Endangered | Bucks County, Philadelphia County, and Delaware County | ||||
| Pickerel frog | Lithobates palustris (Le Conte, 1825) | Abundant | Statewide | |||
| Northern leopard frog | Lithobates pipiens (von Schreber, 1782) | Species of special concern | Scattered reports across the state, but more common to the west and especially the northwest, and also around Northumberland County | |||
| Lithobates sphenocephalus utricularius (Harlan, 1825) | Endangered | Southeasternmost counties | ||||
| Lithobates sylvaticus (Le Conte, 1825) | Abundant | Statewide |
Family: Scaphiopodidae - American spadefoots
Several species of frog have been introduced to Pennsylvania, mostly around the Philadelphia area.