| Florida bog frog | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Ranidae |
| Genus: | Lithobates |
| Species: | L. okaloosae |
| Binomial name | |
| Lithobates okaloosae Moler, 1985 | |
| Synonyms | |
Rana okaloosae | |
The Florida bog frog (Lithobates okaloosae) [1] [2] is a rare species of frog found only in western Florida.
The Florida bog frog inhabits a total area of less than 20 km2 (7.7 mi2). It is found in shallow ponds or creeks along tributaries of the East Bay, Shoal and Yellow Rivers in Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties in Florida. About 90% of its range lies within Eglin Air Force Base, so the major threat to this species originates from human activity disturbing their natural habitat. The base is working with Florida Fish and Wildlife to protect the bog frog, which has shown some tolerance to intrusion. [1]
This species ranges from 34 to 49 mm (1.3 to 1.9 in) in snout to vent length (SVL), with females being a few millimeters larger than males on average. They have no spots on their dorsal surfaces and compared to other North American members of the genus Lithobates , the webbing between the toes is greatly reduced. They are light green. Males have a yellow throat and larger tympana. Tadpoles are brown with dark spots on the tail and light spots on the ventral surface. [3] [4]
The Florida bog frog differs from other American frogs by reduced webbing of their feet – "at least three phalanges of the 4th toe are free of webbing and at least two phalanges of all other toes are free". [5]
Florida Bog Frogs occupy sluggish backwaters and seepages associated with clear, sand-bottomed streams. They prefer relatively open mucky areas that are thickly vegetated with low-lying herbaceous plant species, and are especially fond of areas dominated by sphagnum. The structure of their preferred microhabitats are maintained by the regular intrusion of fire and they will abandon habitats that become thickly overgrown with woody shrubs. Suppression of hot summer fires that enter wooded stream bottoms has led to the loss and degradation of much of the species' historic breeding habitat.
This species was unknown to science until the 1982, when it was discovered by State of Florida herpetologist Paul Moler while conducting surveys for the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii). Relatively little is known about their reproduction and development. Males call at night during the summer months, often in areas where bronze frogs (Lithobates clamitans clamitans) also breed. [6] Females lay several hundred eggs at a time on the surface of shallow, non-stagnant, acidic (pH 4.1–5.5) water during the spring and summer. Tadpoles metamorphose by the next spring. [1]
The American bullfrog, often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is a large true frog native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, ponds, and lakes. Bullfrogs can also be found in manmade habitats such as pools, koi ponds, canals, ditches and culverts. The bullfrog gets its name from the sound the male makes during the breeding season, which sounds similar to a bull bellowing. The bullfrog is large and is commonly eaten throughout its range, especially in the southern United States where they are plentiful.
Lithobates pipiens formerly Rana pipiens, commonly known as the northern leopard frog, is a species of leopard frog from the true frog family, native to parts of Canada and the United States. It is the state amphibian of Minnesota and Vermont.
Lithobates sylvaticus or Rana sylvatica, commonly known as the wood frog, is a frog species that has a broad distribution over North America, extending from the boreal forest of the north to the southern Appalachians, with several notable disjunct populations including lowland eastern North Carolina. The wood frog has garnered attention from biologists because of its freeze tolerance, relatively great degree of terrestrialism, interesting habitat associations, and relatively long-range movements.
Rana is a genus of frogs commonly known as the Holarctic true frogs, pond frogs or brown frogs. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia and western North America. Many other genera were formerly included here. These true frogs are usually largish species characterized by their slim waists and wrinkled skin; many have thin ridges running along their backs, but they generally lack "warts" as in typical toads. They are excellent jumpers due to their long, slender legs. The typical webbing found on their hind feet allows for easy movement through water. Coloration is mostly greens and browns above, with darker and yellowish spots.
The pickerel frog is a small North American frog, characterized by the appearance of seemingly "hand-drawn" squares on its dorsal surface.
The Columbia spotted frog is a North American species of frog. It is green to brown in color with spots on the dorsal surface. The belly and upper lip are white in color. Individuals can be distinguished from other Rana species by their shorter back legs, narrow snout, and upturned eyes. Since they spend most of their time in the water, they also have more webbing in their hind feet than similar species. Although not threatened, this animal has been studied as a model species for the effects of habitat fragmentation.
Gastrophryne carolinensis, the eastern narrow-mouthed toad, is a species of microhylid frog. It is a relatively small, toad-like amphibian found in damp, shady habitats. The species is highly fossorial, and feeds primarily on ants. These North American microhylids are distinguished from true toads, and other anurans by their moist, smooth skin, their lack of eardrums or tympana, their distinguishable squat body shape, and the unique fold of skin superior to their eyes. It is found in the United States, from southern Maryland to the Florida Keys, west to Missouri and Texas. While not a true toad, it is so called because it is terrestrial.
Lithobates sphenocephalus or Rana sphenocephala, commonly known as the southern leopard frog, is a medium-sized anuran in the family Ranidae. The southern leopard frog is one of the 36 species currently or formerly classified in the Rana genus found in North America. It is native to eastern North America from Kansas to New York to Florida. It is also an introduced species in some areas. This species lives in cool, clear water in the north, whereas in the south it occurs in warmer turbid and murky waters of coastal and floodplain swamps, twilight zones of caves, and abandoned mines.
The pig frog is a species of aquatic frog found in the Southeastern United States, from South Carolina to Texas. Some sources also refer to it as the lagoon frog or the southern bullfrog.
The crawfish frog is a medium-sized species of frog native to the prairies and grasslands of the central United States. It gets its name because it inhabits the burrows of crayfish for most of the year. They have defined golden or black circles all over their body.
Lithobates, commonly known as the bullfrogs, is a genus of true frogs, of the family Ranidae. The name is derived from litho- (stone) and the Greek bates, meaning one that treads on rock, or rock climber. As presently defined, it includes many of eastern North America's most familiar aquatic frog species, including the American bullfrog, green frog, and the leopard frogs.
Aromobates meridensis is a species of frog in the family Aromobatidae. It is endemic to the Cordillera de Mérida near Chorotal, Venezuela.
Meristogenys amoropalamus is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is endemic to northern Borneo and occurs in northwestern Sabah and northeastern Sarawak (Malaysia) and in northeastern Kalimantan (Indonesia). Common names mountain Borneo frog and mountain torrent frog have been coined for it. Studies of its larvae revealed that the nominal species contained two cryptic forms, and in 2011, Shimada and colleagues described Meristogenys dyscritus as a separate species.
The Patzcuaro frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. Within the former, broadly defined genus Rana, it belongs to the Rana montezumae subgroup of the Rana pipiens complex. It is endemic to Michoacán state, Mexico, where it is locally known as rana de Pátzcuaro. It occurs in Lake Pátzcuaro, Lake Cuitzeo, and the surrounding streams in Río de Morelia.
The river frog is a species of aquatic frog in the family Ranidae. It is endemic to the southeastern United States. Its natural habitats are temperate rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes and freshwater marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The carpenter frog is a species of true frog found on coastal plain of the Atlantic coast of the United States between central New Jersey and northeastern Florida.
Lithobates clamitans or Rana clamitans, commonly known as the green frog, is a species of frog native to eastern North America. The two subspecies are the bronze frog and the northern green frog.
The bronze frog is a subspecies of Lithobates clamitans found in the southeastern region of North America.
