Where R. capito does not occur, "gopher frog" may mean any North American species of Rana

Rana (genus)

Rana is a genus of frogs. Species include such archetypal pond frogs as the common frog of Europe, brown frogs, and the New and Old World true frogs, including the various species of leopard frogs and the American bullfrog. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia, North America,...

that is not a bullfrog or leopard frog

Leopard frog

Leopard frogs, also called meadow frogs, are the archetypal "grass frogs" of North America, a collection of about 14 species within the true frog genus Rana. They are generally very similar, green with prominent black spotting...

.

The Gopher Frog (Rana capito) is a species of frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

 in the Ranidae family. It is endemic to the Southeastern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

. It primarily inhabits the threatened sandhill

Sandhill

A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and become more oak dominated.Entisols are the typical...

 communities, flatwoods

Flatwoods

Flatwoods, Pineywoods, Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass Ecosystem refers to an ecological community in the Southeastern coastal plain of North America...

, and scrub in the Atlantic coastal plain

Coastal plain

A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...

, where it is usually found near ponds.

Subspecies

Its two subspecies include the Carolina gopher frog (Rana capito capito), and Florida gopher frog (Rana capito aesopus). The dusky gopher frog

Dusky Gopher Frog

The Mississippi gopher frog or dusky gopher frog is a rare species of true frog. It is endemic to the southern United States, and its natural habitats are temperate, coastal forests and intermittent freshwater marshes...

 (Rana sevosa) had previously been considered a subspecies, but was elevated to species status in 2001.

Conservation status

One of its primary threats includes loss of habitat

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 and fire suppression

Fire fighting

Firefighting is the act of extinguishing fires. A firefighter fights fires to prevent loss of life, and/or destruction of property and the environment...

. Prescribed burns

Controlled burn

Controlled or prescribed burning, also known as hazard reduction burning or Swailing is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for...

and habitat acquisition are considered key management strategies for its survival.

External links

• Gopher Frogs, Burrows, and Fire: Interactions in the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem - 2009 University of Florida Fact Sheet
• Rana capito at CalPhotos