The Rio Grande leopard frog (''Lithobates berlandieri'' or ''Rana berlandieri'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of aquatic

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

native to the southern

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 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, and south through

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

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. ...

. It is also sometimes referred to as the Mexican leopard frog. The epithet ''berlandieri'' is in honor of the naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier, who worked for the Mexican government on one of the first biological surveys of Texas.Bour, Roger. (2016) Where and when was Jean Louis Berlandier born? Notes on Jean Louis Berlandier. I. ''Bibliotheca Herpetologica.'' volume 12. number 1 & 2. pages 18-40.

Physical description

The Rio Grande leopard frogs grow from 2.2 to 4.5 inches in length. They are usually tan, brown, or pale green in color, with distinctive black spotting with prominent light-colored ridges down either side of their backs. Their noses are angular, and they have long, powerful legs with webbed feet.

Ecology and behavior

The species is primarily aquatic, and mostly

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, though they can be often found during the day resting along the edge of the water. Despite their geographic range being mostly arid or semiarid, they inhabit permanent water sources, such as streams, creeks, and ponds. They are

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

, but like most frogs, will eat almost anything they can overpower and swallow. Mating occurs during the rainy periods of the spring and fall. The males make a rattling call which is loud enough to be heard a quarter mile or more away. Eggs are laid in large masses attached to aquatic vegetation.

Taxonomy

The Rio Grande leopard frog was once considered a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the northern leopard frog, but was later recognized as a distinct species due to distinct mating call and morphological differences. Recent research has placed Rio Grande leopard frogs in the ''Scurrilirana'' species group of the subgenus ''Pantherana''.

Geographic range and status

Found from

Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas surrounding Austin and roughly bordered by San Saba to Bryan and San Marcos to Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part of the Texas Hill Country and corresponds to a ph ...

to New Mexico (where it is listed as vulnerable), south to Mexico through the Yucatán Peninsula,

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

to northeastern

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, its presence uncertain in

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. It is easily confused with other species that share its range, such as the

Plains leopard frog 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 zoology, zoologist and University of Texas professor, Dr. W. Frank Blair. Descri ...

(''

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 ...

''). It is unknown whether

hybridization Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...

occurs. The species has also been introduced to the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and is known to be expanding its range south into Mexico in the state of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. It is believed to be contributing to the population reduction of the

lowland leopard frog The lowland leopard frog (''Lithobates yavapaiensis'') is a species of frog in the family Ranidae that is found in Mexico and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater lakes, and fres ...

, ('' Lithobates yavapaiensis''), which is native to the region. This expansion of range is the primary factor in the Rio Grande leopard frog being classified as least concern, by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q59812 Lithobates Amphibians of Central America Frogs of North America Amphibians of Belize Amphibians of Guatemala Amphibians of Honduras Amphibians of Mexico Amphibians of Nicaragua Amphibians of the United States Fauna of the Rio Grande valleys Fauna of Northeastern Mexico Endemic fauna of New Mexico Endemic fauna of Texas Least concern biota of North America Least concern biota of Mexico Least concern biota of the United States Amphibians described in 1859 Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird