AmphibiaWeb - Rana forreri


Rana forreri Boulenger, 1883 Forrer's Grass Frog 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	Least Concern (LC)
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 (7 records).

Description
Rana forreri is a moderately large frog with adults reaching 120 mm. This frog has smooth skin, a pointed snout, well-developed dorsolateral folds extending from the eye to the base of the hind limb, and dark brownish dorsal spots. The color can be dark green to tan. Hind limbs also have well-defined dark bands (Grismer 2002).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

View Bd and Bsal data (7 records).

Rana forreri is distributed from southern Sonora to Jalisco, Mexico, and on down through Nicaragua and into northern Costa Rica. It lives in ponds (Grismer 2002).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
During the evening, individuals sit at the water's edge or along the shore up to 2 meters from the water. The mating call consists of a low soft growling trill lasting 1.5 to 2 seconds and producing the sound of w-a-a-a-a-a (Grismer 2002).

Comments
Chambers et al 2025 synonomized Rana adleri, Rana cora, Rana floresi, Rana hillisi, and Rana miadis with R. forreri.

References

Chambers E.A., J.D. Lara-Tufiño, G. Campillo-García, A.Y. Cisneros-Bernal, D.J. Dudek, V. León-Règagnon, J.H. Townsend, O. Flores-Villela, and D.M. Hillis (2025). "Distinguishing species boundaries from geographic variation." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 122(19), e2423688122. [link]

Grismer, L. L. (2002). Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California. University of California Press, Berkeley.

Originally submitted by: Peera Chantasirivisal (first posted 2005-10-11)

Comments by: Michelle S. Koo (updated 2025-05-12)

Edited by: Kellie Whittaker, Michelle S. Koo (2025-05-12)

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2025 Rana forreri: Forrer's Grass Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/5033> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed May 17, 2025.

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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 17 May 2025.

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