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.

Distribution and Habitat

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

U.S. state distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, 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 in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (907 records).

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 1950 m.

Introduced populations have been established in Utah, Washington, western Iowa and in Canada, specifically Newfoundland and British Columbia.

Comments

Rana clamitans clamitans and Rana clamitans melanota are two recognized subspecies; see Lannoo account for more information.

This species was featured in News of Week September 28, 2015:

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the environment are known to affect sex differentiation of amphibians during development. Agricultural pesticides are the most familiar environmental endocrine disruptors, but others include synthesized and natural estrogens (animal and plant). Lambert et al. (2015) found that in metamorphic Rana clamitans the bias toward females was higher in suburban ponds than in forested ponds. As well, the amount of suburban land use (residential landscaping) was related to higher levels of phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) in suburban ponds compared to forest ponds. This suggests that changes in land use are unappreciated sources of estrogen exposure to wildlife. (Written by David Cannatella)

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.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2022 Rana clamitans: Bronze Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/5009> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 23, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 23 Nov 2024.

AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use.