Pickerel Frog
Lithobates palustris
Summary 4
The pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris, formerly Rana palustris) is a small North American frog, characterized by the appearance of seemingly "hand-drawn" squares on its dorsal surface. Pickerel frogs have varied habitats, the northern specimen prefers to live near cold, clear water. They prefer rocky ravines, bogs and meadow streams, but can be found around lakes and rivers that are heavily wooded. In the Reservation, there's a significant population of pickerel frogs at Campbell's Pond.
In case of attack, pickerel frogs have an excellent defense mechanism: they emit skin secretions which are irritating to people and toxic to some predators; making the pickerel frog the only poisonous frog native to the United States. Due to its poison, most mammals, birds, snakes and other frogs will leave the pickerel frog alone.
Sources and Credits
- (c) J.D. Willson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by J.D. Willson
- (c) Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/twpierson/5691541731/
- (c) James Shelton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by James Shelton
- Adapted by Tom Pollard from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithobates_palustris
