List of amphibians of Great Britain

This is a list of amphibians of Great Britain. There are seven extant amphibian species native to Great Britain, in addition, there are a number of naturalized species and extirpated/extinct species. The extant natives comprise three newts, two toads and two frogs. Creating a complete list of native species is difficult as many subfossils have been discovered that cannot be properly identified leading to some species becoming endangered or extinct by the time they are found to be native.

Extant native species

Pleurodelinae

Bufonidae

Ranidae

Extinct native species

• Moor frog (Rana arvalis) — Extinct since the middle ages to wetland drainage and destruction of peat bogs; may have survived into the early modern era.
• Agile frog (Rana dalmatina) — Became extinct at some point during the Holocene due to woodland and ice age pond drainage; may have survived into the early modern era.
• European tree frog (Hyla arborea) — Became extinct in the 1990s due to overcollection and loss of scrubland habitat..
• Common parsley frog (Pelodytes punctatus) — Became extinct sometime between the late Pleistocene and early Holocene likely due to human activity.
• Common spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) — Became extinct sometime between the late Pleistocene and early Holocene likely due to human activity.

Naturalised and invasive species

• Salamanders and newts
• Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra)
• Alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris) — invasive
• Italian crested newt (Triturus carnifex)
• Frogs, toads and allies
• Midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) — naturalised (possibly native)
• Yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata) — was naturalised current status unknown - likely restricted to Devon if still present.
• Painted frog (Discoglossus pictus) — has bred at least once
• Australian green tree frog (Litoria caerulea) — has bred at least once
• Marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) — invasive
• Edible frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus) — invasive
• Iberian water frog (Pelophylax perezi) – invasive at RSPB Ham wall nature reserve
• American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeiana) — successfully bred - considered invasive
• African clawed toad (Xenopus laevis) — two invasive populations survived in the UK for 50 years, now extinct apart from in Calderstones Park.

References