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| Hose's Frog, Huia hosii ( Boulenger, 1891), Tong Ng Chang Waterfall, near Hat Yai, southern Thailand. Hose's Frog sits along the banks of swift moving streams in southern Thailand and Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. Sometimes they are found in the spray zone of the streams. On occasion they will climb into low vegetation. They are about 13 mm at metamorphosis, and reach 100 mm with females being larger than males. Hose's Frog has also been placed in the genus Rana. For more Asian ranids click the photo. |
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| The Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeiana (Shaw, 1802). Photographed in Will Co., Illinois USA. Attains a body length of at least 203 mm making it the largest frog native to the USA. It inhabits almost any type of sluggish or slow moving permanent water. However, this frog many wander overland, one showed up in my yard, at least a kilometer from the nearest pond. Bullfrogs eat mostly insects, but they will take any animal they can swallow including small mammals, birds, reptiles, and other frogs. In some places they have become an invasive species, and they been introduced into many areas of Europe, Asia, and Central and South America. This frog has been placed in the genus Rana, but the family and its genera have recently been rearranged by Frost et al. 2006. Aberrant colored bullfrogs are sometimes bred and sold for the pet trade, such as the bottom photo of albino L. catesbeiana. |
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| The Green Frog, Lithobates clamitans melanota (Rhoads, 1895) . Photographed in Will Co., Illinois. The clamitans complex is likely multiple species, currently this is considered to be the more northern race. It is extremely abundant, and it may reach densities of more than one frog per square meter of pond. It is sometimes called the banjo frog, because its warning call sounds like a banjo string breaking. |
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| The Bronze Frog, Lithobates clamitans clamitans (Latreille In Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille, 1801) is the Gulf Coastal form of the Green Frog. The frog was photographed in Alachua Co., Florida. Maximum size is about 108 mm. It is an abundant species but sometimes secretive, and occurs in almost all bodies of shallow water. |
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| Pig Frog, Lithobates grylio (Stejneger, 1901), North Carolina, USA. This is a large (160 mm) highly aquatic frog of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Its common name is derived from the sound of its call. Males call while floating at the surface, often in areas with cypress, water lilies, and areas that are not heavily forested. This frog has been previously placed in the genus Rana. |
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| Spix's Frog, Lithobates palmipes (Spix, 1824) is widespread in the Amazonian lowlands of South America. This specimen was photographed in southwestern Trinidad near Rio Claro. Males reach 126 mm, females reach about 100 mm. It inhabits disturbed areas and gallery forests. It has also placed in the genus Rana. |
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| The Pickerel Frog, Lithobates palustris (LeConte, 1825) occurs in eastern North America from Quebec, Canada to Texas. The animal photographed is from Whitehall, Michigan. It uses a variety of habitats ranging from forests, bogs, swamps, and open grassy environments. The toxic nature of its skin secretions is well known. This frog is also placed in the genus Rana. |
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| Leopard Frog, Lithobates pipiens (Schreber, 1782), Will County, IL, USA. For many years the leopard frog was considered one wide ranging species, today is is recognized as a species complex which is still being revised by zoologists. It uses both permanent and temporary bodies of water, and feeds in grassy areas away from water after reproducing. It has also been placed in the genus Rana. |
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| The Southern Leopard Frog, Lithobates sphenocephalus (Cope, 1886) Jefferson Co., Indiana has also been called Rana utricularia (Harlan, 1826) or Rana sphenocephala. Harlan's 1826 name has been suppressed and sphenocephalus has been given priority by Opinion 1685 (Anonymous, 1992, Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 49: 171-173). Southern Leopard Frogs use a variety of aquatic habitats and will wander away from water to feed during the summer. |
Ranid frogs occur world wide, being absent only from New Zealand, much of Australia, southern South America, Oceanic islands, and the Sahara Desert. At least one species lives within the Arctic Circle. The smallest species have adults in the 15-20 mm range, the largest species maybe the bullfrog, Rana catesbiana, which reaches 203 mm in body length. Most species lay their eggs in still water, but some have adapted for stream environments and lay their eggs in fast moving water and have stream adapted tadpoles. Some species are arboreal, a few are fossorial, a few are totally aquatic, but most are semiaquatic or terrestrial. There are more than 320 species placed into at least 50 different genera. Note that the names used here reflect recent changes suggested by Frost et. al. (2006. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, No. 297). |