Amphibians
Vegas Valley Leopard Frog
Lithobates fisheri · also called Vegas Valley leopard frogs
Beneath the streets and casinos of modern Las Vegas once flowed a network of natural desert springs, home to a small frog found nowhere else on Earth, gone for good by the time most of the city that replaced its habitat had even been built.
Overview
The Vegas Valley leopard frog, Lithobates fisheri, was a desert spring-dependent amphibian once native exclusively to the Las Vegas Valley of southern Nevada. Its extraordinarily narrow historical range, extinction linked directly to groundwater loss and urban development, and status as a cautionary conservation example make it one of the more sobering amphibian stories in North American history.
A frog that vanished with its springs
When the desert springs of the Las Vegas Valley were pumped dry and paved over, the Vegas Valley leopard frog had nowhere left to survive, its entire existence tied to a water source that simply stopped flowing.
Status
Extinct — last confirmed in the wild around the 1940s, following the destruction of the desert spring habitat it depended on entirely.
Vegas Valley Leopard Frog: common questions
Why did the Vegas Valley leopard frog go extinct?
This species existed only around the natural desert spring systems of the Las Vegas Valley in Nevada, and when those springs were destroyed through groundwater pumping and urban development as the city grew, the frog lost the only water sources it depended on and disappeared entirely.
When was the Vegas Valley leopard frog last seen?
The species was last confirmed in the wild around the 1940s, and despite subsequent searches, no surviving individuals have ever been found, leading to its classification as presumed extinct.
Why is the Vegas Valley leopard frog's story often mentioned in conservation discussions?
Its loss is frequently cited as a stark illustration of how quickly isolated desert spring ecosystems can collapse once groundwater is diverted or depleted, since a species entirely dependent on a narrow set of springs has nowhere else to go if that water disappears.
Are there other leopard frogs that live in similarly restricted desert habitat today?
Yes, the relict leopard frog and lowland leopard frog both occupy similarly narrow, spring-dependent desert habitat in the American Southwest today, and their conservation status is watched closely partly because of the cautionary example set by the Vegas Valley leopard frog's extinction.