The Florida bog frog (''Lithobates okaloosae'')
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 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 ...
found only in western Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
Distribution
The Florida bog frog inhabits a total area of less than 20 km2 (7.7 mi2). It is found in shallow ponds or creeks along tributaries of the East Bay, Shoal and Yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...
Rivers in Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose.
Santa Rosa may also refer to:
Places Argentina
*Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city
* Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca
* Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca
*Santa Rosa, La Pampa
* Sa ...
, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties in Florida. About 90% of its range lies within Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...
, so the major threat to this species originates from human activity disturbing their natural habitat. The base is working with Florida Fish and Wildlife to protect the bog frog, which has shown some tolerance to intrusion.[
]
Description
This species ranges from in snout to vent length (SVL), with females being a few millimeters larger than males on average. They have no spots on their dorsal surfaces and compared to other North American members of the genus '' Lithobates'', the webbing between the toes is greatly reduced. They are light green. Males have a yellow throat and larger tympana. Tadpole
A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...
s are brown with dark spots on the tail and light spots on the ventral surface.[Al Nasa'a, M' (2003]
''Rana okaloosae''
Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 10, 2006
Habitat
Florida Bog Frogs occupy sluggish backwaters and seepages associated with clear, sand-bottomed streams. They prefer relatively open mucky areas that are thickly vegetated with low-lying herbaceous plant species, and are especially fond of areas dominated by sphagnum. The structure of their preferred microhabitats are maintained by the regular intrusion of fire and they will abandon habitats that become thickly overgrown with woody shrubs. Suppression of hot summer fires that enter wooded stream bottoms has led to the loss and degradation of much of the species' historic breeding habitat.
Ecology and behavior
This species was unknown to science until the 1982, when it was discovered by State of Florida herpetologist Paul Moler while conducting surveys for the Pine Barrens Treefrog (''Hyla andersonii''). Relatively little is known about their reproduction and development. Males call at night during the summer months, often in areas where bronze frogs (''Lithobates clamitans clamitans'') also breed.[
]
References
Further reading
*Moler PE. 1985. "A New Species of Frog (Ranidae: ''Rana'') from Northwestern Florida". ''Copeia'' 1985 (2): 379-383. (''Rana okaloosae'', new species).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q23759097
Lithobates
Endemic amphibians of the United States
Endemic fauna of Florida
Amphibians described in 1985