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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
North
American bullfrog, bullfrog |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Amphibia |
| ORDER: |
Anura |
| FAMILY: |
Ranidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Rana
catesbeiana |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Green
to greenish brown; bullfrogs of the southern US
are often spotted; irises of gold or brown; both
head and body are flattened and broad |
| MALE |
The
tympanum (eardrum) of the male is larger than the
female's |
|
| SIZE: |
Snout
to vent length: 9-15 cm (2.5-6 in); record 20 cm
(8 in)
Legs length: 17-25 cm (7-10 in) |
|
| WEIGHT: |
Up
to 500 g (17.5 oz) |
|
| DIET: |
Voracious
appetite; will eat almost anything that moves and
that it can swallow - including invertebrates and
small vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles,
fish, and even turtles and other frogs |
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| INCUBATION: |
Hatch in four days or less |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
20,000
eggs produced by a single large female |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
2-4
years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Average
4-5 years |
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| RANGE: |
Nova
Scotia to Central Florida, west to Wisconsin and
the Rockies; introduced to British Columbia and
California |
|
| HABITAT: |
Vegetation
along edge of large, slow moving bodies of freshwater |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
North
American bullfrogs are capable of leaping 1 to 2
m (3-6 ft). |
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| 2. |
North
American bullfrogs are territorial and protect their
territories by calls, displays, chases, jump attacks,
and even wrestling. Females are attracted to males
with territories that provide the most food. |
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| 3. |
A
female North American bullfrog can lay up to 25,000
small eggs that are held together at the surface
of the water. |
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| 4. |
Hearing
is one of the most important senses to a frog. Male
North American bullfrogs chorus at breeding ponds;
females also give aggressive and reciprocation calls. |
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| 5. |
North
American bullfrogs have teeth in the roof of their
mouth and a muscular tongue capable of flipping
prey into their mouth. |
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| 6. |
North
American bullfrogs may remain at the tadpole stage
for up to 2 years. A longer tadpole stage means
a larger frog after metamorphosis, which usually
means a better chance of survival. |
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| 7. |
North
American bullfrogs close their nostrils and continue
to absorb oxygen through their skin while under
water. |
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| 8. |
In
general, frogs have smooth skin while toads have
textured skin. |
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| Where
North American bullfrogs occur naturally, they are
common and help keep populations of insects in check.
But they have been introduced into areas of the
western United States where, because of their appetite,
they are capable of reducing or destroying local
populations of native species. Their populations
can increase to become out of balance with the species
native to those habitats because often they have
no natural predators and their skin secretions make
them unpalatable to many animals. Bullfrogs, like
all amphibians, have porous skin and respond quickly
to changes in the environment. The health of their
populations can be an indicator of the health of
the environment. |
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|
|
| Beringer
and Johnson. 1995. Herpetological Review.
26(2):98. |
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| Conant
and Collins. Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern
and central North America. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Co., 1991. |
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|
Dickerson,
Mary. The Frog Book. New York: Dover Pub.
Inc., 1969.
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| Duellman
and Trueb. Biology of the Amphibians. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1986. |
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| Stebins
and Cohen. A Natural History of Amphibians.
1995. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New
Jersey. |
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