Rana clamitans
| Green frog | |
|---|---|
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| Male, Tewksbury Township, New Jersey | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Ranidae |
| Genus: | Rana |
| Species: | R. clamitans |
| Binomial name | |
| Rana clamitans Latreille, 1801 |
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| Subspecies | |
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See text |
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| Green frog range | |
| Synonyms | |
The green frog (Rana clamitans[2][3][4]) 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.
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Description [edit]
This species is a mid-sized true frog. Adult green frogs range from 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) in body length (snout to vent, excluding the hind legs). The typical body weight of this species is from 28 to 85 g (0.99 to 3.0 oz).[5][6] The sexes are sexually dimorphic in a few ways: mature females are typically larger than males, the male tympanum is twice the diameter of the eye, whereas in females, the tympanum diameter is about the same as that of the eye, and males have bright yellow throats. The 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 [edit]
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 [edit]
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 [edit]
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 [edit]
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.
Conservation status [edit]
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 [edit]
There are two recognized subspecies of Rana clamitans:
- Bronze frog, Rana clamitans clamitans (Latreille, 1801)
- Northern green frog, Rana clamitans melanota (Rafinesque, 1820)
Gallery [edit]
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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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Female, facing left
External links [edit]
- ARMI: Green Frog Includes links to sound files of Green Frog calls.
- Green Frog, Rana clamitans melanota, CARCNET
Footnotes [edit]
- ^ "Lithobates clamitans". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ Hillis, D. M. (2007). "Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42 (331–338): 331–8. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.08.001. PMID 16997582.
- ^ Hillis, D. M., and Wilcox, T. P. (2005). "Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 34 (2): 299–314. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.007. PMID 15619443.
- ^ Pauly, Greg B., Hillis, David M. & Cannatella, David C. (2009). "Taxonomic freedom and the role of official lists of species names". Herpetologica 65 (2): 115–128. doi:10.1655/08-031R1.1.
- ^ Green Frog (true frog family). epa.gov
- ^ GREEN FROG. Rana clamitans melanota. uri.edu
References [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rana clamitans |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Rana clamitans |
- 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.
