Wood Frog
Lithobates sylvaticus
Conservation Status:
State Status: Apparently Secure (NatureServe, 2024)
Global Assessment: Least Concern (IUCN, 2020)
Photographed by Eric M. Powell in Glastonbury
Listen to call:
(HerpNet, 2009)
Description
Wood frogs grow up to three inches long (Watkins-Colwell, 2024). They range in color from tan to dark brown with darker markings around the eyes that resemble a mask. This species has a white stomach and sometimes has dark mottling on the stomach and legs. This coloration allows them to easily blend in with leaf litter. The dorsolateral ridges are prominent (the ridges that run from behind each eye down the back).
Habitat
This species is most often found in forested areas near water.
Behavior
Wood frogs exhibit a unique ability of freeze tolerance, where their blood and tissue is able to freeze over the winter and thaw once it warms up again. They spend most of their time on the forest floor and eat small invertebrates including insects and arachnids.
Breeding season occurs in the early spring in vernal pools. Males will call out from the water to attract females, and eggs are laid in clumps.
Range
References
HerpNet. (2009, March 18). Wood Frog calling. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ah_slM_F34.
iNaturalist. (2024). Observations. California Academy of the Sciences / National Geographic Society. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=49&taxon_id=66012.
International Union for Conservation Of Nature and Natural Resources. (2020, December 21). Wood Frog. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/58728/193382501.
NatureServe. (2024, November 1). Lithobates sylvaticus. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100332/Lithobates_sylvaticus.
Quinn, D. P. (2020). Wood Frog. Connecticut Herpetology. https://www.ctherpetology.com/wood-frog.
Watkins-Colwell, G. J. (2024). Wood Frog - Rana sylvatica. 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 20, 2024