---
title: "Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog"
description: "Ascaphus montanus — Amfibieën. The tailed frogs are two species of frogs in the genus Ascaphus, the only taxon in the family Ascaphidae ."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/rocky-mountain-tailed-frog
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog

> Ascaphus montanus — Amfibieën. The tailed frogs are two species of frogs in the genus Ascaphus, the only taxon in the family Ascaphidae .

- Scientific name: *Ascaphus montanus*
- Category: `amphibians` (Amfibieën)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Meren en rivieren), `mountains` (Bergen)
- iNaturalist observations: 454
- Wikidata: [Q3116498](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3116498)
- iNaturalist taxon: [24544](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/24544)

## Names

- en: Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog
- es: Rana con Cola Oriental
- fr: Grenouille-à-queue des Rocheuses

## Countries with the most observations

US (436), CA (10)

## Summary

The tailed frogs are two species of frogs in the genus Ascaphus, the only taxon in the family Ascaphidae . The "tail" in the name is actually an extension of the male cloaca. The tail is one of two distinctive anatomical features adapting the species to life in fast-flowing streams.  These are the only North American frog species that reproduce by internal fertilization. They are among the most primitive known families of frogs.
Its scientific name means 'without a spade', from the privative prefix a- and the Ancient Greek skaphís (σκαφίς, 'spade, shovel'), referring to the metatarsal spade, which these frogs do not…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailed_frog

## Photo

![Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/rocky-mountain-tailed-frog/medium.jpg)

Photo: Torsten Watkins · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/241396226

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/rocky-mountain-tailed-frog?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).