Green Frog
Lithobates clamitans
Conservation Status:
State Status: Secure (NatureServe, 2024)
Global Assessment: Least Concern (IUCN, 2020)
Photographed by Sophia Marler in Glastonbury
Listen to call:
(Joe Spandrusyszyn, 2015)
Description
Green frogs grow up to four inches long (Watkins-Colwell, 2024). They range from brown to green in color. This species has a white stomach and darker banding across the body. They have prominent eardrums (the circular impressions located behind each eye) and dorsolateral ridges (ridges that run from behind each eye down the back). During the breeding season, males have yellow throats while females remain white. In males, the eardrums are larger than the eyes, and in females they are about the same size as the eyes.
Habitat
These frogs are very common across the state of Connecticut and can be found in or near virtually any body of water, either permanent or temporary. They often live in shallow freshwater ponds and swamps.
Behavior
Green frogs are opportunistic hunters, eating whatever they can fit in their mouths. This might include insects, crayfish, or smaller frogs. They will rest along shores, and if threatened these frogs will retreat to the water and hide themselves in mud or plants (Quinn, 2020).
Breeding season occurs throughout the summer. Males will call out from the water to attract females. Eggs are laid in clumps in bodies of water. Tadpoles can take a few years to transform into frogs, so permanent bodies of water are favored.
Range
Green Frog
Photographed by Alyssa Jones
Often Confused with
American Bullfrog
Photographed by Mark Apgar
The American bullfrog is visually similar to the green frog. The easiest way to tell them apart is by looking at the ridge that runs from the back of the frog's eye. In bullfrogs, this ridge wraps around the eardrum (the circular impression located behind the eye). In green frogs this ridge runs from the eye to further down the back. The difference in this ridge can clearly be seen in the images above. Bullfrogs are typically also larger than green frogs, however it would be difficult to identify a frog based on this criteria alone.
References
iNaturalist. (2024). Observations. California Academy of the Sciences / National Geographic Society. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=49&taxon_id=65982.
International Union for Conservation Of Nature and Natural Resources. (2020, December 21). Green Frog. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/58578/193376512.
Joe Spandrusyszyn. (2015, July 6). Croaking Northern Green Frog. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1JAlCIFWtA.
NatureServe. (2024, November 1). Lithobates clamitans. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102178/Lithobates_clamitans.
Quinn, D. P. (2020). Green Frog. Connecticut Herpetology. https://www.ctherpetology.com/green-frog.
Watkins-Colwell, G. J. (2024). Green Frog - Rana clamitans. Yale Peabody Museum. https://peabody.yale.edu/explore/collections/herpetology/guide-amphibians-reptiles-connecticut.
Watkins-Colwell, G. J. et al. (2006). New Distribution Records for Amphibians and Reptiles in Connecticut, with Notes on the Status of an Introduced Species. Sacred Heart University. https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=bio_fac. ​​
Page updated November 19, 2024