Species of Greatest Conservation Need

**Species of Greatest Conservation Need** (Updated: 06/16/2025)
Scientifc Name	Common Name	Taxonomic Group	SGCN Status	Federal Status	State Status	Global Rank	State Rank	Endemic	General Habitat Type(s)
Ambystoma tigrinum	eastern tiger salamander	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	Not Listed	G5	S3	No	Terrestrial adults generally occur under cover objects or in burrows surrounding a variety of lentic freshwater habitats, such as ponds, lakes, bottomland wetlands, or upland ephemeral pools. The specific terrestrial habitats are also varied and the occurrence of this species seems to be more closely associated with sandy, loamy or other soils which have easy burrowing properties, rather than any particular ecological system type. Requires fishless breeding pools for successful reproduction.
Anaxyrus houstonensis	Houston toad	Amphibians	Yes	E 10/13/1970	E 05/15/1975	G1	S1	Yes	Terrestrial and aquatic: Primary terrestrial habitat is forests with deep sandy soils. Juveniles and adults are presumed to move through areas of less suitable soils using riparian corridors. Aquatic habitats can include any water body from a tire rut to a large lake.
Anaxyrus woodhousii	Woodhouse's toad	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	Not Listed	G5	S5	No	Terrestrial and aquatic: A wide variety of terrestrial habitats are used by this species, including forests, grasslands, and barrier island sand dunes. Aquatic habitats are equally varied.
Desmognathus conanti	spotted dusky salamander	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	Not Listed	G4	S1	No	This species occurs in association with aquatic habitats in forested areas. Small, clear, spring fed streams with sandy substrate bordered with ferns and moss as well as murky, stagnant water bodies in cypress swamps, baygalls, and flood plains in bottomland forests support populations of this species.
Eurycea chisholmensis	Salado Springs salamander	Amphibians	Yes	T 03/26/2014	T 03/30/2020	G1	S1	Yes	Aquatic; springs, streams and caves with rocky or cobble beds.
Eurycea latitans	Cascade Caverns salamander	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	T 03/01/1987	G3	S2	Yes	Aquatic; springs, streams and caves with rocky or cobble beds.
Eurycea nana	San Marcos salamander	Amphibians	Yes	T 07/14/1980	T 07/18/1977	G1	S1	Yes	Aquatic; springs and associated water.
Eurycea naufragia	Georgetown salamander	Amphibians	Yes	T 03/26/2014	T 03/30/2020	G1	S1	Yes	Aquatic; springs, streams and caves with rocky or cobble beds.
Eurycea neotenes	Texas salamander	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	T 03/30/2020	G1G2	S1S2	Yes	Aquatic; springs, streams and caves with rocky or cobble beds.
Eurycea pterophila	Blanco River Springs salamander	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	Not Listed	G3	S3	Yes	Aquatic; springs, streams and caves with rocky or cobble beds.
Eurycea rathbuni	Texas blind salamander	Amphibians	Yes	E 03/11/1967	E 05/19/1974	G1	S1	Yes	Aquatic and subterranean; streams and caves.
Eurycea robusta	Blanco blind salamander	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	T 01/30/1997	G1	S1	Yes	Aquatic and subterranean; streams and caves.
Eurycea sosorum	Barton Springs salamander	Amphibians	Yes	E 04/30/1997	E 11/01/2000	G1	S1	Yes	Aquatic; springs, streams and caves with rocky or cobble beds.
Eurycea tonkawae	Jollyville Plateau salamander	Amphibians	Yes	T 09/19/2013	T 03/30/2020	G2	S2	Yes	Aquatic; springs, streams and caves with rocky or cobble beds.
Eurycea troglodytes	Valdina Farms sinkhole salamander	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	Not Listed	G3	S3S4	Yes	Aquatic; springs, streams and caves with rocky or cobble beds.
Eurycea waterlooensis	Austin blind salamander	Amphibians	Yes	E 09/19/2013	E 03/23/2015	G1	S1	Yes	Aquatic and subterranean; streams and caves.
Leptodactylus fragilis	white-lipped frog	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	T 01/30/1997	G5	S3	No	Terrestrial and aquatic: Lowlands, grasslands, cultivated fields, roadside ditches, and a wide variety of other habitats; often hides under rocks or in burrows under clumps of grass.
Lithobates areolatus areolatus	southern crawfish frog	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	Not Listed	G4T4	S3	No	Terrestrial and aquatic: The terrestial habitat is primarily grassland and can vary from pasture to intact prairie; it can also include small prairies in the middle of large forested areas. Aquatic habitat is any body of water but preferred habitat is ephemeral wetlands.
Necturus beyeri	gulf coast waterdog	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	Not Listed	GNR	S3	No	This species is associated with permanent flowing water within forested habitats, from small streams to large rivers. The are frequently associated with slow moving, sandy bottomed spring fed streams with lots of aquatic habitat such as log jams and leaf litter beds.
Notophthalmus meridionalis	black-spotted newt	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	T 01/30/1997	G3	S3	No	Terrestrial and aquatic: Terrestrial habitats used by adults are typically poorly drained clay soils that allow for the formation of ephemeral wetlands. A wide variety of vegetation associations are known to be used, such as thorn scrub and pasture. Aquatic habitats used for reprodution are a variety of ephemeral and permanent water bodies.
Pseudacris streckeri	Strecker's chorus frog	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	Not Listed	G4	S3	No	Terrestrial and aquatic: Wooded floodplains and flats, prairies, cultivated fields and marshes. Likes sandy substrates.
Rhinophrynus dorsalis	Mexican burrowing toad	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	T 07/18/1977	G5	S3	No	Terrestrial and aquatic: Low, rolling hills of sand, gravel or thin soil drained by ravines and gullies. Prefers moderate to dense vegetation cover of cactus and thornscrub. Roadside ditches, temporary ponds, arroyos, or wherever loose friable soils are present in which to burrow.
Smilisca baudinii	Mexican treefrog	Amphibians	Yes	Not Listed	T 07/18/1977	G5	S3	No	Terrestrial and aquatic: Terrestrial habitas used include forested and brush around water bodies. Aquatic habitast used can any any body of water but preferred breeding sites are small, ephemeral wetlands.
Amazona viridigenalis	red-crowned parrot	Birds	Yes	Not Listed	T 03/30/2020	G2	S2	No	Starting in the late 1980s to early 1990s, this species has increased in numbers in urban settings in Cameron and Hidalgo counties. This cavity-nesting species prefers dead palm trees, including non-native Washingtonian palms, with abandoned cavities excavated by Golden-fronted Woodpeckers. Grooming of palms (i.e., trimming the dead, drooping fronds) does not appear to directly impact this species; however removal of dead palms with or without cavities should be avoided.
Ammodramus savannarum	grasshopper sparrow	Birds	Yes	Not Listed	Not Listed	G5	S3B	No	Grasshopper Sparrows occur in grasslands, prairies, hayfields, and open pastures with little to no scrub cover and often with some bare ground. Birds in the western part of the range can tolerate some brushy habitat but avoid areas that are too overgrown. Winters primarily in grass-dominated fields.