Sorry I don't catch the call. Maybe the location will help you in
the long haul. No frog in hand. No stereo recording on this one
either.
Rich Peet
--- In Walter Knapp <>
wrote:
> Rich Peet wrote:
> > I think I am winning and if I do then I won't let anyone forget
it..
>
> I'm not sure what this is about.
>
> Paul Moler's description of these looking similar to Eastern
Narrowmouth
> Toads was correct. I'm in possession of three of them, having, with
> Justin, just got back from a long round trip to S Georgia back to
the
> pool to collect them.
>
> They and the narrowmouths were calling poorly, but both were
calling,
> only at dusk and later. Same as before, separate locations for the
two
> calls. Justin and I started stalking. After several failures, they
are
> still far more wary than narrowmouths, I spotted one calling at the
edge
> of a small pile of concrete rubble pieces that I'd heard several
call
> from, and no narrowmouths. This rubble pile was well away from the
> water, damp sand under it. Small pieces, about hand size or less,
but
> with lots of cracks and so on to hide in. With careful removal of
the
> pieces we got the exact frog. Which lead to the first new
difference.
> These are like narrowmouths on steroids, way faster running. Even
with
> two of us this was not a easy frog to catch.
>
> Placed into a critter keeper, we found that he could walk right up
the
> walls, which narrowmouths don't do. The narrowmouths we collected
there
> stayed in the bottom of the critterkeeper, not this guy.
>
> We also got the impression of a difference in the color of the
sides,
> but are not so sure on that. This looks like a narrowmouth, maybe a
> little shortened in length, biggest visual difference is a belly
that's
> more clear of markings. Narrowmouths caught at our site all have
small
> spots across their belly. I've not taken a detailed look again
since
> getting back, they are in wet leaves and such like. Photos may or
may
> not reveal what we saw last night.
>
> Anyway, after admiring our catch we decided to put the pieces we
had
> taken off the pile back. And spotted another, which after a wild
chase
> was caught. Just like the first. Then we started systematically
taking
> the 2' diameter pile apart. The next two got away at high speed,
but we
> got one more. Then reassembled the pile.
>
> We also brought back two for sure narrowmouth toads, caught in the
act
> of calling the standard call. They will be needed for the genetic
> comparison. We had placed the critterkeepers in a empty ice chest
with
> the lid propped cracked open. All last night and today on the way
back
> the two narrowmouths kept happily calling. The new guys never
called.
>
> I'll photograph all of them today, then turn them over to the real
> experts for testing. The definitive answer about these will have to
come
> from genetic testing. We could be dealing with something like the
Cope's
> Grays vs Versicolor Grays. That pairing look identical, but
versicolor
> has twice the chromosomes of Cope's. So they are two species only
told
> apart in the field by the call.
>
> Paul Moler was unwilling to call these Eastern Narrowmouth Toads,
but
> only Gastrophryne.
>
> > I also think I found the same sound in some of the Eastern
> > Narrowmouth Toads that I recorded around Victoria TX in 7/2002.=20
It
> > was wet when I was there and the Red Cross shared our motel as
they
> > did flood relief.
> >
> > listen to 800 kb file especially around 50 seconds into it at:
> > http://home.comcast.net/~richpeet/txtoad.mp3
> >
> > exact location and equipment available upon request.
> >
> > Rich Peet
>
> Did you actually catch the callers? Or just record them? If you saw
> them, or observed their behavior, how much did it agree with what
I've
> found.
>
> It does sound very similar. Sonogram looks right too. Being found
in
> association with Eastern Narrowmouth toads is the same as with Paul
> Moler and I.
>
> If so it would mean between the two of us we have three documented
> locations. I don't know what all documentation Paul Moler has. From
his
> letter he would love to wrap up this mystery, so would I.
>
> I have no idea just how long it will take to get results back on
> testing. It took over a month to filter back on the Cope's X
> Bird-voiced. Have yet to talk to them. When we do get results I
expect
> it's going to be darned closely related to Eastern Narrowmouths, if
not
> within their genetic variation. Having personally been out in the
field
> with them listening critically, now twice, and having seen them and
how
> they behave, I'm still unwilling to just dismiss these as a variant
call
> of Eastern Narrowmouths. I've listened to a large number of
narrowmouths
> across the state. This call is simply not there normally. I'm
certainly
> going to be listening to narrowmouth locations more carefully.
>
> Tracking down the cause of consistent oddball calls is one of the
next
> tasks with frogs. At least in the stuff I do. I hear oddball calls
on
> nearly every trip, but usually one individual, and then never hear
> another one. Even with one individual I'll track down the frog to
have a
> looksee if I can. In most cases the oddball caller is easy to
figure out
> as he's calling with others of his species, though he may not get
responses.
>
> I know genetic testing is making lots of changes in our
understanding of
> frogs. Our system of identification based on visual markers and
such
> like is being put to the test and some things will definitely
change.
>
> Walt
>
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