The western chorus frog is one of the smallest species of frogs of the watershed of the river Richelieu. The colour of this small frog varies from grey to brown and can even be green sometimes. The stomach and the sides are white and the texture of the skin is just a little granular. The fingers of the western chorus frog are long and provided with little developed suction cups.
The male is generally smaller than the female, and can measure between 2.1 and 3.2 cms, while the female can measure between 3 and 3.7 cms. The male has a vocal pocket at the level of the throat the colour of which can vary from yellow to the green.
The western chorus frog lives mainly under stones and in dead trunks, in the wintry period while in period of reproduction, this small frog lives in ponds or spots of shallow water with a dense vegetation. Tadpoles eat seaweeds; adults prefer ants and spiders.
In Quebec, we naturally find the western chorus frog, in the neighbourhoods of the river Richelieu. The main cause of the decrease in the population of this rare species is the urbanization and the development of agricultural zones.
The western chorus frog is a species that has been classified as vulnerable by the government of Quebec; its survival is considered precarious even if its disappearance is not feared in the short or medium-term.
The dusky salamander is indicated, in Quebec, as one species likely to be endangered or vulnerable. Indeed, it is a species which remains rare. It lives in swamps, hidden in rotten trunks, on stones or in the moss. This species is thus threatened by the urbanization but also by the increase of the productions of peat and farms.
Contrary to the other salamanders, the dusky salamander possesses only four fingers on the back legs while the others possess five.
It is a small salamander with a back which can vary in colour from greyish brown to reddish. The stomach is white with small black spots. At the grown-up stage, the dusky salamander generally measures about ten centimetres. The male has a lengthened snout, almost of square shape, while the snout of the female is rather short and round.
The dusky salamander mainly eats insects, such as spiders, midges, ticks or still ants.
