How About a State Amphibian and a State Reptile for NJ?

Look up the New Jersey state amphibian and state reptile and you will find - nothing. We don't have them. Well, we have amphibians and reptiles, but none are officially designated.

That may change soon.

Bills to make the Pine Barrens treefrog the official amphibian of New Jersey and to make the bog turtle the state reptile were approved by a state Senate committee this year.

a puffed up Pine barren Treefrog

According to S2297, the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii) was listed by New Jersey as an endangered species in 1979 due to habitat loss and upgraded in 2003 to threatened “based on improved population numbers and a determination that its habitat in the state is well protected by the New Jersey Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan.” The bill says designation as the state amphibian would further help in conservation of the species and its habitat by raising its profile among the public.

Populations of the Pine Barrens treefrog are found in only three places worldwide. They are the New Jersey Pinelands, the panhandle of Florida, and the sandy hills of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Then we have bill S1925, for the bog turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergii). It is one of the smallest turtles in the world. It has a distinct orange patch on either side of its head and a brown to black shell, and it is one of the rarest in North America.

bog turtle

The bog turtle can be found in wet areas in 12 New Jersey counties. It was listed as endangered in New Jersey in 1974 and threatened in the U.S. in 1997. Designation as the state amphibian should also give it more exposure and help conserve it by raising public awareness.

If the bills get past the state Senate and Assembly and are signed by the governor, these two species will join other official species such as:

• the eastern goldfinch as the state bird
• the horse as the state animal (the U.S. Equestrian Team is headquartered in New Jersey)
• the brook trout as the state fish
• the honeybee as the state “bug”
• the black swallowtail as the state butterfly
• Hadrosaurus foulkii, the fossil of which was discovered in Haddonfield, Camden County, as the state dinosaur