North GroundHuntNorth Ground Hunt — return to North Ground
Species authority page

Narrowmouth frog

Gastrophryne carolinensis · Frogs and toads · Amphibians

Narrowmouth frog (Gastrophryne carolinensis): Small: up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) snout-vent length. Gray, brown or reddish above, often with dark spots or mottling and sometimes a broad stripe on each side. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Gastrophryne carolinensis
Family
Microhylidae
In North America
Native
Range
Southern Maryland to southeastern Kansas and south to the Florida Keys, Gulf Coast and eastern Texas, with scattered disjunct northern and western populations. Introduced on the Bahamas and Grand Cayman. Not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Small: up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) snout-vent length. [1][2]

Gray, brown or reddish above, often with dark spots or mottling and sometimes a broad stripe on each side. [1][2]

Smooth skin, short limbs, unwebbed toes, pointed snout and a fold of skin across the back of the head. [1][2]

Males have a dark throat; females light. [1][2]

Call is a nasal, sheep-like bleat with no trill. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Wide variety of habitats, usually with sandy or loamy soil, up to several hundred metres from water; breeds in ponds, ditches, swamps and rain puddles. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Mostly nocturnal, most active on wet nights in spring and summer. [1][2]

Burrows or hides beneath objects by day and in cold or dry weather. [1][2]

Eats mainly ants, termites and small beetles, feeding at anthill openings. [1][2]

Breeds after heavy rains, mostly spring-summer (March-November); toxic skin secretions deter predators. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Southern Maryland to southeastern Kansas and south to the Florida Keys, Gulf Coast and eastern Texas, with scattered disjunct northern and western populations. Introduced on the Bahamas and Grand Cayman. Not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology