POST-STANDARD (Syracuse, New York) 31 December 13 Wood frog should be NY's official amphibian, according to DeFrancisco legislation (Teri Weaver)

Syracuse, N.Y. : New York does not have an official amphibian. But the wood frog now has a powerful champion, Sen. John DeFrancisco.

DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, has introduced legislation to make the wood frog the official amphibian of New York.

The news was first reported by Capital New York.

The Empire State has its share of natural stars. The official mammal is the beaver. The bird, an Eastern bluebird. The insect? A nine-spotted lady bug.

New York's official reptile is the snapping turtle. How the state has managed so long without an official amphibian remains unclear. The proposed legislation from DeFrancisco, who leads the Senate's Finance Committee, does not explore the absence and only addresses the slight.

"Various species have been adopted as the New York State symbol in many different categories, however, New York does not yet have a state amphibian," DeFrancisco's bill reads. "This bill would identify the wood frog as the NYS amphibian."

Perhaps it's the frog's ability to survive Upstate winters that caught the senator's attention. The little hoppers live in many states and throughout New York. They are known, to some, for their ability to survive cold climates by literally freezing until spring and producing a natural antifreeze that keeps their cells de-iced all winter long.

When spring comes, the wood frogs are among the first to wake up and get busy. "It sounds like quaking ducks," Will Michael, on "Nature Notes" says in the video below. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LpcgAwu4AJw)

To be clear, it's the males who quack, Michael says. Males are smaller, brown. The girls are larger, pink. Both have a white stripe on their faces.

Prospects for the wood frog legislation are uncertain. Crowning various animals, or vegetables, might seem like quick work for Albany lawmakers. Not so, as the great corn-or-onion debate of 2011 shows.

Still, a creature that's at home on both land and water might have an easier time in the state Capitol in 2014. After all, it is an election year.
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