The American
Green Frog or
Bronze Frog (
RanaRana is a genus of frogs. Species include such archetypal pond frogs as the Common Frog of Europe, brown frogs, and the New World true frogs including the leopard frog. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia, North America, Central America, and the northern half of South America...
clamitans) is a
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of
frogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
native to the eastern half of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In some states, green frogs are commercially sold as pets.
Adult green frogs range from 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) in body length (snout to vent). Males have a
tympanumThe tympanum is an external hearing structure in frogs and toads, located just behind the eye. It does not actually process sound waves; it simply transmits them to the amphibian's inner ear, which is protected from water and other foreign objects....
twice the diameter of the eye and a bright yellow throat. Female tympanum diameter is about the same as that of the eye.
The American
Green Frog or
Bronze Frog (
RanaRana is a genus of frogs. Species include such archetypal pond frogs as the Common Frog of Europe, brown frogs, and the New World true frogs including the leopard frog. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia, North America, Central America, and the northern half of South America...
clamitans) is a
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of
frogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
native to the eastern half of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In some states, green frogs are commercially sold as pets.
Description
Adult green frogs range from 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) in body length (snout to vent). Males have a
tympanumThe tympanum is an external hearing structure in frogs and toads, located just behind the eye. It does not actually process sound waves; it simply transmits them to the amphibian's inner ear, which is protected from water and other foreign objects....
twice the diameter of the eye and a bright yellow throat. Female tympanum diameter is about the same as that of the eye. Dorsolateral ridges, prominent, seam-like skin folds that run down the sides of the back, distinguish the green frog from the bullfrog, which entirely lacks them.
Habitat
Green frogs live wherever there is shallow
fresh waterFresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
- ponds, road-side ditches, lakes, swamps, streams, and brooks. Most often seen resting along the shore, they leap into the water when approached. By inhabiting an
ecotoneAn ecotone is a transition area between two adjacent but different plant communities, such as forest and grassland. It may be narrow or wide, local or regional.It may appear on the ground as a gradual blending of the two communities across a broad area, or it may manifest itself as a sharp boundary...
, in this case the terrestrial and aquatic habitat boundary, green frogs (and other aquatic ranid frogs), by employing a simple leap, leave behind their many and faster terrestrial enemies that cannot similarly cross that boundary.
Reproduction
Green frogs breed in semi-permanent or permanent freshwater. Males call from and defend territories. The distinctive call sounds like a plucked banjo string, usually given as a single note, but sometimes repeated.
The breeding season is from April to August.
Actual mating involves
amplexusAmplexus is a form of pseudocopulation in which a male amphibian grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process...
, whereby the male grasps the female with his forelimbs posterior to her forelimbs. The female releases her eggs and the male simultaneously releases sperm which swim to the egg mass. Fertilization takes place in the water. A single egg clutch may consist of 1000 to 7000 eggs, which may be attached to submerged vegetation.
Green frog tadpoles are olive green and iridescent creamy-white below. Metamorphosis can occur within the same breeding
seasonA season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
or tadpoles may overwinter to metamorphose the next summer. Males become sexually mature at 1 year, females may mature in either 2 or 3 years.
Feeding
Green frogs will attempt to eat any mouth-sized animal they can capture, including insects, spiders, fish, crayfish, shrimp, other frogs, tadpoles, small snakes, birds, and snails. Tadpoles graze on
algaeAlgae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds. They are photosynthetic, like plants, and "simple" because they lack the many distinct organs found in...
and water plants.
Housing
One Green frog can be keep in a 10 gallon tank. For a terrarium set-up, use moss and keep it damp, or else it will dry up.
Logs or pieces of large
barkBark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
will be use as a hiding place for the frog. Use a water dish for the frog to go in, change daily. Use a UV flourscent lamp for the frog to get its nutrients. For an
aquariumAn aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
set-up, use half land and half water. Use water plants and rocks to build an
underwaterUnderwater is a term describing the realm below the surface of water where the water exists in a natural feature such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, or river. Three quarters of the planet Earth is covered by water. A majority of the planet's solid surface is abyssal plain, at depths between 4000...
cave for the frog to hide in. Logs and pieces of the bark can also be used for frog's hiding place for when it is on land.
TadpolesTadpoles are a psychedelic rock band formed in 1990 in New York City by Todd Parker and Michael Kite Audino In 1992, Nick Kramer , David Max and Andrew Jackson of the fledgling Manhattan group, Hit, joined the Tadpoles after putting Hit on hiatus.In 1993 Kite and Jackson left the group, which...
can be keep in full water aquarium in groups of 3 or 4. As they turn into frogs, it is best for them to be keep by themselves.
Feeding
Feed the
frogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
three times a week. Feed the frog a variety of insects and vertabates, such as crickets, slugs, minnows,
crayfishCrayfish, crawfish, or crawdads — members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea — are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...
, and earthworms, careful of overfeeding. Tadpoles can be fed with steam vegatables, fish flakes, turtle pellets, and zooplankton. Do not feed the tadpoles
celeryApium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten.- Taxonomy :...
or
saladSalad is any of a wide variety of dishes including: green salads; vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They include a mixture of cold or hot foods, often including raw vegetables and/or fruits.Green salads...
.
Hygiene
Clean the tank at least once a week. If moss smells and looks brown, replace it with new
mossMosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
. Change 1/2 of the water in the frog's
aquariumAn aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
, you can use a gravel vacuum or a turkey baster to suck out the dirty water. When using
bleachA bleach is a chemical that removes colors or whitens, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household "chlorine bleach", a solution of approximately 3–6% sodium hypochlorite , and "oxygen bleach", which contains hydrogen peroxide or a peroxide-releasing compound such as sodium...
use 5% of it to disinfect the harmful pathogens and clean the tank throughly to get rid of the smell of the bleach.
Conservation status
The green frog is an abundant frog wherever it occurs.
Green frogs are protected by the law in some states.
Subspecies
There are two recognized
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
of
Rana clamitans:
- Bronze Frog, Rana clamitans clamitans (Latreille
Pierre André Latreille was a French entomologist. His works describing insects assigned many of the insect taxa still in use today....
, 1801)
- Northern Green Frog, Rana clamitans melanota (Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz, as he is known in Europe, was a nineteenth-century polymath who made notable contributions to the study of prehistoric earthworks in North America, Mesoamerican ancient linguistics, and botany and zoology. His personal life was erratic.Many have called him...
, 1820)
External links