Facts about Tailed Frogs

1. 07

   Eggs of Ascaphus frogs require two to three years of development in cold mountain streams before hatching, the longest incubation period of any North American frog species.

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2. 06

   Adult tailed frogs measure only 1 to 2 inches in length, making them among the smallest frog species native to North America.

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3. 05

   Fewer than 20,000 individual tailed frogs remain in the wild across their entire range in Oregon and Washington, making them increasingly vulnerable to habitat loss from stream degradation.

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4. 04

   Tailed frogs inhabit cold mountain streams with water temperatures typically between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius, making them among the most cold-adapted frog species in North America.

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5. 03

   Tadpoles of tailed frogs lack the typical oral disc and instead feed by scraping algae from rocks using keratinous structures in their mouths.

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6. 02

   Ascaphus frogs evolved over 200 million years ago, making them among the most ancient frog lineages still living today.

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7. 01

   The two species of tailed frogs possess a tail-like extension used during aquatic mating in fast-flowing streams of the Pacific Northwest, making them unique among living frogs.

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