Photo 4236214, (c) Roberto R. Calderón, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Roberto R. Calderón

Attribution © Roberto R. Calderón
some rights reserved
Uploaded by aguilita aguilita
Source iNaturalist
Associated observations

Photos / Sounds

What

American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)

Observer

aguilita

Date

July 9, 2016

Description

American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)

9 July 2016
Texas Woman's University
Denton, Denton County, Texas

A terrific summer rainstorm swept through Denton, Texas, in the mid-afternoon with a wind that easily toppled trees, downed power lines, and so forth. The rain fell in sheets and perhaps as many as two to three inches of rain fell during the hour-long episode in which the sky shed its life-giving liquid. It was in the aftermath of this storm that this American Bullfrog was observed and photographed at the pond closest to the TWU Library. Here's this short thumbnail sketch from the National Aquarium: "Bullfrogs are brown to green in color, often with dark brown spots. Their bellies range from white to yellow and are sometimes marked with black spots or patterns. Their hind feet are fully webbed. Male bullfrogs emit a deep bellow that sounds like “jug-a-rum.” Extremely territorial, they will aggressively defend their land, even wrestling with rivals. Females lay thousands of eggs (as many as 20,000) during the summer breeding season. In the southern part of a bullfrog’s range, metamorphosis can take as few as 79 days. While in the colder, northern part of their range it can take two to three years." American Bullfrog is an authentic resident of North America and the Western Hemisphere.

Source: "American Bullfrog," National Aquarium, photographs, description, accessed 7.11.16, http://www.aqua.org/explore/animals/american-bullfrog

Sizes