Color Variations of the Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens)

Leopard frog is a generic name used to refer to various species in the

true frog True frogs is the common name for the frog family Ranidae. They have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are present in North A ...

genus

Lithobates ''Lithobates'' is a genus of true frogs, of the family Ranidae. The name is derived from '' litho-'' (stone) and the Greek ' (, one that treads), meaning one that treads on rock, or rock climber. The name was defined by Hillis and Wilcox (2005) ...

. They all have similar coloration: brown or green with spots that form a

leopard pattern A leopard pattern is a spotted color pattern, particularly in the hair coat or skin of animals, but can also describe spotting patterns in plants and fabrics. When used as spotting patterns in fabrics, leopard pattern or print makes a great fashi ...

. They are distinguished by their distribution and behavioral, morphological, and genetic differences. The range of the various species of leopard frogs extends from the

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, throughout

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and other parts of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, and possibly the very northern section of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Taxonomy

Leopard frogs are grouped in the genus

, along with many other different frogs such as the

American bullfrog The American bullfrog (''Lithobates catesbeianus''), often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is a large true frog native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, po ...

Species

* Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog ( ''Lithobates kauffeldi'') * Bigfoot Leopard Frog (''

Lithobates megapoda The big-footed leopard frog or bigfoot leopard frog (''Lithobates megapoda'', formerly ''Rana megapoda''), is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to western central Mexico where it is found in the Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán, and ...

'') * Browebuenns' Leopard Frog (''

Lithobates brownorum ''Lithobates brownorum'' is a species of frog native to southern Veracruz and northeastern Oaxaca east through the Yucatan Peninsula and the uplands of Chiapas in southern Mexico through Guatemala and Honduras to Nicaragua. Its separateness fro ...

'') * Chiricahua Leopard Frog (

Lithobates chiricahuensis The Chiricahua leopard frog (''Lithobates chiricahuensis'' syn. ''Rana chiricahuensis'') is a species of frog in the family Ranidae, the true frogs. Distribution and habitat It is native to Mexico and the United States (Arizona and New Mexico) ...

) * Forrer's Grass Frog ( Lithobates forreri) * Guerreran Leopard Frog ( Lithobates omiltemanus) * Island Leopard Frog ( Lithobates miadis) * Lemos-Espinal's Leopard Frog ( Lithobates lemosespinali) * Lenca Leopard Frog (

Lithobates lenca The Lenca leopard frog (''Lithobates lenca'') is a species of true frog found in the Chortis Highlands of southwestern Honduras at altitudes of 1560 to 2080 m. This frog was long thought to be a hybrid between the two lowland species ''Lithobat ...

) * Lowland Leopard Frog ( Lithobates yavapaiensis) * Montezuma Leopard Frog ( Lithobates montezumae) * Northern Leopard Frog (

Lithobates pipiens ''Lithobates pipiens''Integrated Taxonomic Information System nternet2012''Lithobates pipiens'' pdated 2012 Sept; cited 2012 Dec 26Available from: www.itis.gov/ or ''Rana pipiens'', commonly known as the northern leopard frog, is a species of l ...

) * Northwest Mexican laboomalacaka Leopard Frog ( Lithobates magnaocularis) * Peralta Frog (

Lithobates taylori The Peralta frog, or montane leopard frog, ''Lithobates taylori'', is a species of frog in the family Ranidae found in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Etymology The specific name ''taylori'' honors Edward Harrison Taylor (1889–1978), an American h ...

) * Pickerel frog ( Lithobates palustris) * Plains Leopard Frog (

Lithobates blairi The Plains leopard frog (''Lithobates blairi'') is a spotted frog found in North America. It is sometimes referred to as Blair's leopard frog, named after the noted zoologist and University of Texas professor, Dr. W. Frank Blair. Description The ...

) * Relict Leopard Frog ( Lithobates onca) * Rio Grande Leopard Frog (

Lithobates berlandieri The Rio Grande leopard frog (''Lithobates berlandieri'' or ''Rana berlandieri'') is a species of aquatic frog native to the southern United States in Texas and New Mexico, and south through Mexico and Central America. It is also sometimes referre ...

) * Showy Leopard Frog ( Lithobates spectabilis) * Southern Leopard Frog ( Lithobates sphenocephalus) * Tlaloc's Leopard Frog ( Lithobates tlaloci) * Transverse Volcanic Leopard Frog ( ''Lithobates neovolcanicus'') * Vegas Valley Leopard Frog (

Lithobates fisheri The Vegas Valley leopard frog (''Lithobates fisheri''), also known as the Las Vegas leopard frog, is an extinct species of frog. It once occurred in the Las Vegas Valley, as well as Tule Springs, Clark County, southern Nevada in the United Stat ...

)

New species

Several leopard frog species look very similar to each other, and even within a population there is a lot of variation. Some populations may actually be cryptic species complexes. 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 Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

and included northern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, southeastern

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

; the new species was first distinguished by its short, repetitive

croak Croak may refer to: * Croak, the sound that frogs make People with the surname * Alex Croak (born 1984), Australian athlete * James Croak (born 1951), American visual artist * John Croak (1892–1918), Canadian soldier * Marian Croak Marian R ...

, distinct from the "long snore" or "rapid chuckle" of other leopard frog species in that area ( L. pipiens and L. sphenocephalus). This distinct species has been identified as far south as southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. On 30 October 2014, it was announced that the frog found in March 2012 has been described as a new species: the Atlantic Coast leopard frog ( ''Lithobates kauffeldi'') that once inhabited

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

References

External links

at Western Ecological Research Centre
Plains Leopard Frog – Rana blairi
at the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide Rana (genus) Amphibians of North America Amphibian common names Fauna of California

Taxonomy

Species

New species

References

Further reading

External links