AmphibiaWeb - Rana clamitans


Rana clamitans Bronze Frog, Green Frog (R. c. melanotus), Bronze Frog (R. c. clamitans) Clade: Aquarana	family: Ranidae
Taxonomic Notes: This species is placed in Lithobates by some authors, following Frost et al., 2006. This has been a controversial decision, because such well-known species as Rana catesbeiana, with an enormous literature, are made more obscure to many. What is not controversial is that Lithobates is the sister taxon of Rana, so the argument is simply one of Linnean ranks. AmphibiaWeb recommends treating Lithobates as a subgenus of Rana, with species names to be written as Rana (Lithobates) catesbeiana, as an example. This option preserves the maximal amount of phylogenetic information and preserves a long-standing taxonomy.

View distribution map using BerkeleyMapper.

Conservation Status (definitions)

IUCN (Red List) Status Least Concern (LC)
See IUCN account.

NatureServe Status Use NatureServe Explorer to see status.

CITES No CITES Listing

Other International Status None

National Status None

Regional Status None

Description
Rana clamitans is a medium to large bodied frog. Adults in Georgia attain a body length of 86 mm in males and 87 mm in females while those in the north reach 103 mm in males and 105 mm in females. There is a similar clinal increase in body size from low to high altitudes. Dorsal coloration varies extensively, from brown, bronze, or olive to green, bicolor or bluish. The dorsum may have spots, blotches, or vermiculations of dark pigment, but such markings are not present on all individuals. The dorsolateral folds are distinct. Venter is white, sometimes with gray mottling on the throat, jaw margin and hind limbs. The outer surface of the limbs is barred or nearly so. The side of the face is colored bronze or green. There is no light line present on the upper jaw. Toes are webbed extensively, but not to the tips of digits III,IV,V. In males the tympanum is larger than the eye, the thumb and forelimb are enlarged, and the lateral vocal sacs are not externally visible. The skin of northern males is slightly rough and the throat is yellow.

R. c. clamitans and R. c. melanota are subspecies.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Canada, United States

U.S. state distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia

Canadian province distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec

View distribution map using BerkeleyMapper.

Found from the northern shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to central Florida, and from the Atlantic Coast to eastern Texas and southeastern Manitoba. Notably absent from the central Illinois Prairie. Found from the coastal lowlands to elevations of more than 1950m. Introduced populations have been established in Newfoundland, Utah, Washington and British Columbia.

Comments

Hear calls at the Western Sound Archive.

References

Stewart, M. M. (1963). ''Rana clamitans.'' Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 337.1-337.4.

Written by April Robinson (holden AT uclink4.berkeley.edu), UC Berkeley
First submitted 2001-02-14
Edited by Kevin Gin, Michelle S. Koo (2012-04-29)

Citation: AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. 2013. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Available: http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: May 24, 2013).

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