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All B.C. Government B.C. Frogwatch Program

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Species Listed by Region

Click on the map below to see a list of species for your region, or click on your region’s name:

Amphibians of B.C.

Click on the name for a picture and fact sheet about each species.

Common Name	Scientific Name	Species Code*	Status**		Regions
			B.C.	Canada
Frogs and Toads
Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog	Ascaphus montanus	A-ASMO	Red	Endangered	4
Pacific Tailed Frog	Ascaphus truei	A-ASTR	Blue	Special Concern	1, 2, 5, 6
Western Toad	Anaxyrus boreas	A-ANBO	Yellow	Unranked	all
Bullfrog	Lithobates catesbeiana	A-LICA	Exotic	Unranked	1, 2, 8
Green Frog	Lithobates clamitans	A-LICL	Exotic	Unranked	1, 2
Northern Leopard Frog	Lithobates pipiens	A-LIPI	Red	Endangered (B.C. population)	4
Wood Frog	Lithobates sylvaticus	A-LISY	Yellow	Unranked	3, 4, 5, 6, 7A, 7B, 8
Boreal Chorus Frog	Pseudacris maculata	A-PSMA	Yellow	Unranked	7A, 7B
Pacific Chorus Frog	Pseudacris regilla	A-PSRE	Yellow	Unranked	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7A, 8
Northern Red-legged Frog	Rana aurora	A-RAAU	Blue	Special Concern	1, 2, 6
Columbia Spotted Frog	Rana luteiventris	A-RALU	Yellow	Not At Risk	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7A, 7B, 8
Oregon Spotted Frog	Rana pretiosa	A-RAPR	Red	Endangered	2
Great Basin Spadefoot	Spea intermontana	A-SPIN	Blue	Threatened	3
Salamanders
Northwestern Salamander	Ambystoma gracile	A-AMGR	Yellow	Not At Risk	1, 2, 5, 6
Long-toed Salamander	Ambystoma macrodactylum	A-AMMA	Yellow	Not At Risk	all
Blotched Tiger Salamander	Ambystoma mavortium	A-AMMV	Red	Endangered	8
Wandering Salamander (species account coming)	Aneides vagrans	A-ANVA	Yellow	Unranked	1
Pacific Giant Salamander	Dicamptodon tenebrosus	A-DITE	Red	Threatened	2
Common Ensatina (species account coming)	Ensatina eschscholtzii	A-ENES	Yellow	Not At Risk	1, 2
Coeur d’Alene Salamander	Plethodon idahoensis	A-PLID	Yellow	Special Concern	4
Western Redback Salamander (species account coming)	Plethodon vehiculum	A-PLVE	Yellow	Not At Risk	1, 2, 5
Roughskin Newt	Taricha granulosa	A-TAGR	Yellow	Unranked	1, 2, 5, 6

Turtles of B.C.

Click on the name for a picture and fact sheet about each species.

Common Name	Scientific Name	Species Code*	Status**		Regions
			B.C.	Canada
Turtles
Painted Turtle (Pacific Coast Population)	Chrysemys picta pop. 1	R-CHPI-01	Red	Endangered	1, 2
Painted Turtle (Intermountain - Rocky Mountain Population)	Chrysemys picta pop. 2	R-CHPI-02	Blue	Special Concern	3, 4, 5, 8
Slider	Trachemys scripta	R-TRSC	Exotic	Unranked	1, 2, 8

Reptiles of B.C.

Website hosted by Thompson Rivers University.

PLEASE NOTE: You may find that the species names listed here do not always match those used in field guides and at other websites. As technology improves and scientists examine genetic and physical differences within species across their range they sometimes divide them into new species or lump them with others, resulting in a name change. Former species names are provided here:

Old Common Name	New Common Name	Old Scientific Name	New Scientific Name
Coastal Tailed Frog	Pacific Tailed Frog	Ascaphus truei	(no change)
Western Toad	(no change)	Bufo boreas	Anaxyrus boreas
American Bullfrog	Bullfrog	Rana catesbeiana	Lithobates catesbeiana
Green Frog	(no change)	Rana clamitans	Lithobates clamitans
Northern Leopard Frog	(no change)	Rana pipiens	Lithobates pipiens
Wood Frog	(no change)	Rana sylvatica	Lithobates sylvaticus
Red-legged Frog	Northern Red-legged Frog	Rana aurora	(no change)
Tiger Salamander	Blotched Tiger Salamander	Ambystoma tigrinum	Ambystoma mavortium
Coastal Giant Salamander	Pacific Giant Salamander	Dicamptodon tenebrosus	(no change)

* Species Codes:

What are those five-letter codes for? – Actually they are quite useful! By using standardised codes based on the scientific name of each animal, we can be sure that everyone is talking about the same creature. Common (English) names are not precise and the scientific names can be a bit of a mouthful. On the Frogwatch Sighting Form you will notice that a five-letter code is needed – that is the four-letter species code plus a one-letter group prefix (e.g. "A" for amphibians). For example, Great Basin Spadefoot is A-SPIN.

** Status:

Many species are threatened in British Columbia and the level of risk is expressed by their conservation status rank. The conservation status of a species is ranked at both the provincial and national levels, and these conservation rankings are not always the same because they follow slightly different methods of ranking.

Provincial

The Conservation Data Centre (CDC) is responsible for maintaining and updating the conservation status ranks in B.C. and uses methodology established by NatureServe (CDC-Methods). They also maintain the B.C. List Status.

The ranks are:

• Extinct: Species that no longer exist.
• Red: Includes any indigenous species or subspecies that have- or are candidates for- Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened status in British Columbia.
• Blue: Includes any indigenous species or subspecies considered to be of Special Concern (formerly Vulnerable) in British Columbia.
• Yellow: Includes species that are apparently secure and not at risk of extinction.
• Exotic: Species that have been moved beyond their natural range as a result of human activity.

The B.C. Ministry of Environment also prioritizes management actions for all species, not just species of conservation concern, using the Conservation Framework. The species are prioritized under three goals:

1. Contribute to global efforts for species and ecosystem conservation
2. Prevent species and ecosystems from becoming at risk
3. Maintain the diversity of native species and ecosystems

The prioritization score ranges from 1 (highest priority) to 6 (low priority) for a variety of management actions.

You can find out more about the B.C. system of species rankings at the Ecosystems Branch home page or the Conservation Data Centre.

National

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) composed of government, non-government, and academic experts from across Canada assesses and designates which wildlife species are in some danger of disappearing from Canada (COSEWIC Assessment method).

The ranks are:

• EXTINCT: A species that no longer exists;
• EXTIRPATED: A species that no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere;
• ENDANGERED: A species facing imminent extirpation or extinction;
• THREATENED: A species that is likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed;
• SPECIAL CONCERN: A species of special concern because of characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events;
• NOT AT RISK: A species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk;
• DATA DEFICIENT: A species for which there is insufficient scientific information to support status designation.

You can learn more about the national species rankings at Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), or at Endangered Species in Canada.

More Species Identification Pages:

(with beautiful photographs!)

• The Reptiles of British Columbia
• CARCNET Amphibians of Canada
• NARCAM Species Identification Guide