AmphibiaWeb - Rana areolata


Rana areolata (Baird & Girard, 1852) Crawfish Frog, Southern Crawfish Frog (R. a. areolatus), Northern Crawfish Frog (R. a. circulosus) Subgenus: Pantherana	family: Ranidae genus: Rana
Taxonomic Notes: This species was placed in the genus Lithobates by Frost et al. (2006). However, Yuan et al. (2016, Systematic Biology, doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syw055) showed that this action created problems of paraphyly in other genera. Yuan et al. (2016) recognized subgenera within Rana for the major traditional species groups, with Lithobates used as the subgenus for the Rana palmipes group. AmphibiaWeb recommends the optional use of these subgenera to refer to these major species groups, with names written as Rana (Aquarana) catesbeiana, for example.

Conservation Status (definitions)

IUCN Red List Status Account	Near Threatened (NT)
NatureServe	Use NatureServe Explorer to see status.
CITES	No CITES Listing
National Status	None
Regional Status	None
	Access Conservation Needs Assessment Report .

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (24 records).

Description
Rana areolata attains a snout-vent length of 105mm in males and 113mm in females. It has a stocky body with short legs, a conspicuous sacral hump and a large head. A post-tympanic ridge and dorsolateral folds are present. The dorsal surface is smooth to warty and ranges in ground color from creamy white to black. Round to irregular spots are present, usually with pale borders. The ventral surface ranges from immaculate to heavily mottled. The groin and conceled portion of the limbs are often yellowish-green in color. The legs are banded and the upper jaw is mottled. Males have lateral vocal sacs.

R. a. areolata and R. a. circulosa are subspecies.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: United States

U.S. state distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

View Bd and Bsal data (24 records).

Ranges from North Carolina, through Florida, to southeastern Louisiana, and from eastern Texas northward to Wisconsin and Indiana.

References

Altig, R. and Lohoefener, R. (1963). ''Rana areolata.'' Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 324.1-324.4.

Originally submitted by: April Robinson (first posted 2001-02-12)
Edited by: Kevin Gin (2003-12-04)

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2003 Rana areolata: Crawfish Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/4981> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 12, 2024.

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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 12 Nov 2024.

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