Leopard frog
| Leopard frog | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Ranidae |
| Genus: | Rana (partim) |
| Species | |
|
See text. |
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A leopard frog (sometimes called a meadow frog) can mean any frog of about 14 species within the true frog genus. They are generally similarly colored--green with prominent black spotting that sometimes appears as a leopard pattern. They are distinguished by their distribution and certain rather subtle ecological, behavioral, morphological and genetic traits. Their range in the North-American subcontinent extends throughout temperate and subtropical North America to northern Mexico, with some species found even further south. They are also found in Europe.
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Taxonomy[edit]
Leopard frogs (meadow frogs) were often grouped with the American bullfrog and relatives in the genus Lithobates. Lithobates, however, is no longer recognized as a genus by most authors.[1][2][3]
Species[edit]
Further species may exist in this famous cryptic species complex
- Rio Grande Leopard Frog, Rana berlandieri
- Plains Leopard Frog, Rana blairi
- Chiricahua Leopard Frog, Rana chiricahuensis
- Vegas Valley Leopard Frog, Rana fisheri
- Northwest Mexico Leopard Frog, Rana magnaocularis
- Island Leopard Frog, Rana miadis
- Transverse Volcanic Leopard Frog, Rana neovolcanica
- Guerreran Leopard Frog, Rana omiltemana
- Relict Leopard Frog Rana onca
- Northern Leopard Frog, Rana pipiens
- Southern Leopard Frog, Rana sphenocephala
- Ramsey Canyon Leopard Frog, Rana subaquavocalis
- Tlaloc's Leopard Frog, Rana tlaloci
- Lowland Leopard Frog, Rana yavapaiensis
New species[edit]
In March 2012, it was announced that DNA testing had confirmed that a new species of leopard frog had been found whose habitat was centered near New York's Yankee Stadium[4] and included northern New Jersey, southeastern mainland New York, and Staten Island; the new still unnamed species is part of a cryptic species complex that was first distinguished by its short, repetitive croak, distinct from the "long snore" or "rapid chuckle" of other area leopard frog species.[5][6]
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ Hillis & Wilcox (2005)
- ^ Hillis (2007)
- ^ Pauly et al. (2009)
- ^ "New Frog Discovered in NYC: Freshwater Species of the Week – News Watch". Newswatch.nationalgeographic.com. 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ^ "Hiding in Plain Sight, a New Frog Species With a 'Weird' Croak Is Identified in New York City". ScienceDaily. March 14, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
- ^ Newman CE, Feinberg JA, Rissler LJ, Burger J, Shaffer HR. 2012. A new species of leopard frog (Anura: Ranidae) from the urban northeastern US. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 63 (2): 445-455. ("Rana sp. nov.")
References[edit]
- Hillis, David M. & Wilcox, Thomas P. (2004) Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana) Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 34(2): 299–314. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.007 PMID 15619443 PDF fulltext
- Hillis, David. M. (2007) Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 42: 331–338. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.08.001 PMID 16997582 PDF fulltext
- Pauly, Greg B., Hillis, David M. & Cannatella, David C. (2009): Taxonomic freedom and the role of official lists of species names. Herpetologica 65: 115–128. PDF fulltext
External links[edit]
- Leopard frog at Western Ecological Research Centre
- Leopard Frog Care Information at Caresheets.net
- Plains Leopard Frog – Rana blairi at the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
