California's State Amphibian: The California Red-Legged Frog

You've heard about our state bird, the California Quail.

You know about our state flower, the California Poppy, and perhaps you're aware that we have not one but two state trees, the Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia. 

Maybe you even know that our state rock, Serpentine, is green (not gold - that's the state mineral) and that our state mammal, the Grizzly Bear, has been extinct in California since the 1920's.  

But have you heard about California's state amphibian??

Meet the California Red-legged Frog (Rana draytonii).

California Red-legged Frog, Pinnacles National Park


Once common in California, red-legged frogs are now listed as federally threatened.

California Red-legged Frogs are the largest frog native to the western U.S., coming in at up to five inches long.  Apparently, many were eaten by miners during the Gold Rush, and this is the species immortalized by Mark Twain in his "Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County" (possibly).  

Today, red-legged frogs have lost much of the wetland habitat they rely on.  The Coast Range continues to be a stronghold for this species, and populations are found at lower elevations in the Sierra Nevada as well.

The California Red-legged Frog is not our only state animal to be on conservation watch lists: Our state reptile, the Desert Tortoise, is also a Federally Threatened species, and the California Golden Trout, our state freshwater fish, is an endemic species that is considered to be of special conservation concern.

Clearly, we have our work cut out for us to ensure the long-term stewardship and protection of our precious state symbols, in order to see that they too don't go the way of our state mammal, the California Grizzly.  

(Or the Saber-toothed Tiger, our state fossil.)

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About Me

Named after the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I am a naturalist and avid birder based in Central California. Above all, I am a follower of Jesus Christ, our amazingly good Creator God whose magnificent creation is an unending source of awe and inspiration for me. I hope to inspire others to appreciate, respect and protect this beautiful earth we share, and invite you to come along with me as I explore the nature of California and beyond!
- Siera Nystrom -



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