Species Hierarchy
Kingdom ANIMAL (ANIMALIA)
Phylum BACKBONED ANIMALS (CHORDATA)
Class SALAMANDERS AND FROGS (AMPHIBIA)
Order AMPHIBIANS - JUMPING (ANURA)
Family TOADS - NARROW MOUTH (BREVICIPITIDAE)
Common name: TOAD - NARROW MOUTH
Scentific name: GASTROPHRYNE CAROLINENSIS

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Species Info:

This lifeform is found east of the Continental Divide in North America.

Narrow Mouth Toad (Gastrophryne carolinensis) is found in the lowlands from Maryland south throughout most of Florida, west to southeast Texas and north in the Mississippi Valley to southern Illinois. This is a small species usually less than one and one half inches in length.

Narrow Mouth Toad Family (Brevicipitidae) are an unusual group of toads that are generally found in Central America. There are two species found in North America. They usually are small with pointed heads and short legs. The Brevicipitidae family is now considered part of the Microphylidae family. The Microphylidae family is found almost worldwide and it contains about 279 species.

Order Anura contains the jumping amphibians such as the frogs and the toads. Chris Mattison in Frogs and Toads of the World gives a very good overview of this group of amphibians. He states that there are 3,445 species in 310 different genera that he believes should fall into 21 different families. The three largest families, in terms of species, are the Ranidae (Typical frogs) with 667 species, the Hylidae (tree frogs) with 630 species, and the Leptodactylidae (small to medium Neotropical frogs) with 710 species. The Bufonidae (true toads) has 335 species.

Amphibians (Class Amphibia) are best known as the frogs, toads, and salamanders. Amphibians begin their life as larvae that live in the water. Some species continue to evolve so that the final forms can breathe air. A typical example, is the  Bullfrog of North America that begins life as a tadpole, and then finally turns into a adult frog. Amphibians usually have a soft, moist skin, and four legs adapted for walking or jumping or  climbing. They have a three-chambered heart which gives them a fairly advanced circulatory system. There are probably about 2,500 species in this class.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

 

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FROG - PICKERAL
RANA PALUSTRIS
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TOAD - EASTERN SPADEFOOT
SCAPHIOPUS HOLBROOKII
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TOAD - TEXAS NARROW MOUTH
GASTROPHRYNE OLIVACEA
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AMBYSTOMA JEFFERSONIAN.
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