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| Bullfrog |
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| Common
Name: |
bullfrog |
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| Class:
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Amphibia |
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| Order: |
Anura |
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| Family:
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Ranidae |
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| Genus
species: |
Rana
catesbeiana |
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| Fast
Facts |
| Description:
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Green
to greenish brown; bullfrogs of the southern US are often spotted;
irises of gold or brown; both head and body are flattened and broad;
the tympanum (eardrum) of the male is larger than the female's |
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| Size: |
Snout
to vent length: 9-15 cm (2.5-6 in); record 20 cm (8 in)
Legs length: 17-25 cm (7-10 in) |
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| Weight:
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Up
to 500 g (17.5 oz) |
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| Diet:
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Voracious
appetite; will eat almost anything that moves and that it can swallow
- including invertebrates and small vertebrates such as mammals, birds,
reptiles, fish, and even turtles and other frogs |
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| Incubation: |
20,000
eggs produced by a single large female hatch in four days or less |
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| Sexual
maturity: |
2 to
4 years |
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| Life
span: |
Average
4 to 5 years |
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| Range:
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Nova
Scotia to Central Florida, west to Wisconsin and the Rockies; introduced
to British Columbia and California |
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| Habitat:
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Vegetation
along edge of large, slow moving bodies of freshwater |
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| Population: |
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| Status:
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Not
listed by USFWS or CITES |
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| Fun
Facts |
| 1. |
Bullfrogs
are capable of leaping 1 to 2 m (3-6 ft). |
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| 2. |
Bullfrogs
are territorial and protect their territories by calls, displays,
chases, jump attacks, and even wrestling. Females are attracted to
males with territories that provide the most food. |
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| 3. |
A female
bullfrog can lay up to 25,000 small eggs that are held together at
the surface of the water. |
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| 4. |
Hearing
is one of the most important senses to a frog. Male bullfrogs chorus
at breeding ponds; females also give aggressive and reciprocation
calls. |
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| 5. |
Bullfrogs
have teeth in the roof of their mouth and a muscular tongue capable
of flipping prey into their mouth. |
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| 6. |
Bullfrogs
may remain at the tadpole stage for up to 2 years. A longer tadpole
stage means a larger frog after metamorphosis, which usually means
a better chance of survival. |
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| 7. |
Bullfrogs
close their nostrils and continue to absorb oxygen through their skin
while under water. |
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| 8. |
In general,
frogs have smooth skin while toads have textured skin. |
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| Ecology
and Conservation |
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Where
bullfrogs occur naturally, they are common and help keep populations
of insects in check. But they have been introduced into areas of
the western United States where, because of their appetite, they
are capable of reducing or destroying local populations of native
species. Their populations can increase to become out of balance
with the species native to those habitats because often they have
no natural predators and their skin secretions make them unpalatable
to many animals. Bullfrogs, like all amphibians, have porous skin
and respond quickly to changes in the environment. The health of
their populations can be an indicator of the health of the environment.
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| Bibliography |
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Beringer
and Johnson. 1995. Herpetological Review. 26(2):98.
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Conant
and Collins. Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and central North
America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991. |
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Dickerson,
Mary. The Frog Book. New York: Dover Pub. Inc., 1969.
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Duellman
and Trueb. Biology of the Amphibians. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
Univ. Press, 1986. |
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Stebins
and Cohen. A Natural History of Amphibians. 1995. Princeton
University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. |
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to Animal Bytes |
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