Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora)
Resources
Status
- BC: Blue – S3 (2022)
- COSEWIC: Special Concern
- SARA: Special Concern (2005)
- Global: Apparently Secure (2015)
- Galiano Island Status: Confirmed
Description
The northern red-legged frog is a medium-sized brown frog, generally grey and reddish with dark spotting; the skin on the lower belly and under the legs is bright red.
Habitat
Found in lower altitudes, the northern red-legged frog breeds in cool ponds, lake margins, slow moving streams, marshes, and swamps with suitable vegetation. They prefer mature forests with lots of leaf litter and fallen logs.
Range
This species is found at the northern part of its range on the Gulf Islands, the mainland adjacent to the Strait of Georgia, and through the Fraser Valley to Hope and south into Northern California on the western side of the coastal mountain ranges.
Threats
Of special conservation concern are forestry practices that take out mature stands of trees, because there are 3 to 6 times more amphibians in old-growth forests. Habitat degradation, habitat loss, and fragmentation are other concerns for this species. The disease caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is called chytridiomycosis is also of concern due to it being very contagious.
Galiano Status
Populations are established across Galiano Island in wetland ecosystems near mature forests.