Even though he may have dealt a legal setback to the endangered dusky gopher frog, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. on Tuesday painted a colorful verbal image of the critter in a key environmental case.

Writing for a unanimous court, Roberts said the frog is “’dusky’ because of its dark coloring and ‘gopher’ because it lives underground. The dusky gopher frog is about three inches long, with a large head, plump body and short legs. Warts dot its back, and dark spots cover its entire body.”