Rana clamitans

Green Frog
Male, Tewksbury Township, New Jersey
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Ranidae
Genus:	Lithobates
Species:	L. clamitans
Binomial name
Lithobates clamitans
Subspecies
See text R. c. clamitans, Bronze Frog R. c. melanota, Northern Green Frog
Green Frog range
Synonyms
Rana horiconensis Holbrook, 1842 Rana fontinalis Holbrook, 1842 Rana clamitans Latreille, 1801

The Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans syn. Rana clamitans) is a species of frog native to the eastern half of the United States and Canada. There are two subspecies—the Bronze Frog and the Northern Green Frog.

Description

Adult green frogs range from 2–4 inches (5–10 cm) in body length (snout to vent). Males have a tympanum twice the diameter of the eye and a bright yellow throat. Female tympanum diameter is about the same as that of the eye. Dorsolateral ridges, prominent, seam-like skin folds that run down the sides of the back, distinguish the green frog from the bullfrog, which entirely lacks them.

Habitat

Green frogs live wherever there is shallow fresh water—ponds, road-side ditches, lakes, swamps, streams, and brooks. Most often seen resting along the shore, they leap into the water when approached. By inhabiting an ecotone, in this case the terrestrial and aquatic habitat boundary, green frogs (and other aquatic ranid frogs), by employing a simple leap, leave behind their many and faster terrestrial enemies that cannot similarly cross that boundary.

Behavior

Adult Green frogs are highly aquatic, but juveniles will sometimes go overland when the grass and soil are wet. This species is usually diurnal, although their calls are sometimes heard at night during hotter weather.

Reproduction

Green frog pair in amplexus. Note large tympanum of male, on top, and small tympanum of female.

Green frogs breed in semi-permanent or permanent freshwater. Males call from and defend territories. The distinctive call sounds like a plucked banjo string, usually given as a single note, but sometimes repeated.

The breeding season is from April to August.

Actual mating involves amplexus, whereby the male grasps the female with his forelimbs posterior to her forelimbs. The female releases her eggs and the male simultaneously releases sperm which swim to the egg mass. Fertilization takes place in the water. A single egg clutch may consist of 1000 to 7000 eggs, which may be attached to submerged vegetation.

Green frog tadpoles are olive green and iridescent creamy-white below. Metamorphosis can occur within the same breeding season or tadpoles may overwinter to metamorphose the next summer. Males become sexually mature at 1 year, females may mature in either 2 or 3 years.

Feeding

Green frogs will attempt to eat any mouth-sized animal they can capture, including insects, spiders, fish, crayfish, shrimp, other frogs, tadpoles, small snakes, birds, and snails. Tadpoles graze on algae and water plants.

As a pet

In some US states, green frogs are commercially sold as pets. With proper care, Green frogs do well in captivity.

Housing

One Green frog can be kept in a 10 gallon tank. For a terrarium set-up, use moss and keep it damp, or else it will dry up. Logs or pieces of large bark will be use as a hiding place for the frog. Use a water dish for the frog to go in, change daily. Use a UV fluorescent lamp for the frog to get its nutrients. For an aquarium set-up, use half land and half water. Use water plants and rocks to build an underwater cave for the frog to hide in. Logs and pieces of the bark can also be used for frog's hiding place for when it is on land. Tadpoles can be kept in full water aquarium in groups of 3 or 4. As they turn into frogs, it is best for them to be kept by themselves.

Feeding

Feed the frog three times a week. Feed the frog a variety of insects and vertebrates, such as crickets, slugs, crayfish, and earthworms, careful of overfeeding. Tadpoles can be fed steamed vegetables, fish flakes, turtle pellets, and zooplankton. Do not feed the tadpoles celery or salad.

Hygiene

Clean the tank at least once a week. If moss smells and looks brown, replace it with new moss. Change 1/2 of the water in the frog's aquarium, you can use a gravel vacuum or a turkey baster to suck out the dirty water. When using bleach use 5% of it to disinfect the harmful pathogens and clean the tank thoroughly to get rid of the smell of the bleach.

Conservation status

The green frog is one of the most abundant frogs wherever it occurs and has no known problems. Green frogs are protected by the law in some US states.

Subspecies

There are two recognized subspecies of Rana clamitans:

• Bronze Frog, Rana clamitans clamitans (Latreille, 1801)
• Northern Green Frog, Rana clamitans melanota (Rafinesque, 1820)

Gallery

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  Hand held

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  Female, from the side

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  Female, backside showing dorsolateral ridges

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  Female

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  Green Frog covered in mosquitos

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  Maryland

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  Northern Green Frog, Temagami, Ontario

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  Female, facing left

External links

• ARMI: Green Frog Includes links to sound files of Green Frog calls.
• Green Frog, Lithobates clamitans melanota, CARCNET

References

• Hammerson (2004). Rana clamitans. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern.
• Hillis, D.M. & Wilcox, T.P. (2005): Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 34(2): 299–314. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.007 PDF fulltext. Erratum in Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 41(3): 735. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.024
• Hillis, D. M. (2007) Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 42: 331–338.
• 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