Leopard frog is a generic name used to refer to various species in the true frog genus Lithobates. They all have similar coloration: brown or green with spots that form a leopard pattern. They are distinguished by their distribution and behavioral, morphological, and genetic differences. The range of the various species of leopard frogs extends from the Hudson Bay in Canada, throughout the United States, throughout Mexico and other parts of Central America, and possibly the very northern section of South America.
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.
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.
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 Plains leopard frog is a spotted frog found in North America. It is sometimes referred to as Blair's leopard frog, named after the noted zoologist and University of Texas professor, Dr. W. Frank Blair.
The Rio Grande leopard frog is a species of aquatic frog native to the southern United States in Texas and New Mexico, and south through Mexico and Central America. It is also sometimes referred to as the Mexican leopard frog. The epithet berlandieri is in honor of the naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier, who worked for the Mexican government on one of the first biological surveys of Texas.
The Vegas Valley leopard frog, also known as the Las Vegas leopard frog, is an extinct species of frog. It once occurred in the Las Vegas Valley, as well as Tule Springs, Clark County, southern Nevada in the United States, at elevations between 370 and 760 m. It was believed to be the only frog endemic to the United States to have become extinct in modern times.
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.
The Chiricahua leopard frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae, the true frogs.
Forrer's grass frog or Forrer's leopard frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae found in Mexico and Central America through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua to Costa Rica. It is a widespread and common frog found in lowland and seasonal tropical forests. It can also adapt to man-made habitats such as flooded agricultural lands and other water content systems. Reproduction requires permanent pools and lagoons.
The Guatemala plateau frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It occurs in Guatemala and southern Mexico. It is impossible to morphologically distinguish this species from Lithobates forreri and Lithobates brownorum, and the validity of it has been questioned. It is an uncommon frog that inhabits cloud forests, including degraded forest, and grassland. Breeding takes place in streams and small temporary ponds. It is threatened by habitat degradation caused by agricultural encroachment, wood extraction, human settlement, and water pollution.
The Northwest Mexico leopard frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to Mexico. This predominantly aquatic frog inhabits temporary or permanent pools in shrublands and mesquite forests. It might be threatened by droughts.
The big-footed leopard frog or bigfoot leopard frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to western central Mexico where it is found in the Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán, and Guanajuato states.
The transverse volcanic leopard frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to the southern edge of the Mexican Plateau, Mexico. Its natural habitats are pine-oak forests and mesquite grasslands near lakes, pools or slow-flowing streams. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Guerreran leopard frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to the Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero, Mexico.
Tlaloc's leopard frog, or rana de Tláloc in Spanish, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to the Valley of Mexico. It is most likely extinct.
The Atlantic Coast leopard frog is a species of amphibian that is endemic to the United States. As a member of the genus Ranasensu lato, it is classified as a true frog, with typical smooth skin and a narrow waist. Its range stretches along the northern part of Eastern Seaboard, from Connecticut to North Carolina. The species takes its common name from the speckles on its legs and back reminiscent of a leopard pattern.
The Lenca leopard frog is a species of true frog found in the Chortis Highlands of southwestern Honduras at altitudes of 1560 to 2080 m. This frog was long thought to be a hybrid between the two lowland species Lithobates brownorum and Lithobates forreri until 2018 when DNA tests proved the highland leopard frogs to be a distinct species. They are smaller in size but have larger heads than the two lowland species, with males growing between 46.6–64.3 mm (1.83–2.53 in) while females grow between 43.7–76.3 mm (1.72–3 in). The Lenca leopard frog is named after the Lenca people, who inhabit the same mountainous region as the frog.
