Appearance ²

5-11.1 centimeters. Green to greenish-brown with rounded, irregularly-patterned brown spots, often with a white or yellow border. The spots can be squarish but generally are not as rigidly patterned as the pickerel frog. Ridge from above eye extending along back. White or greenish-white stomach. White inside thighs.

Habitat ²

Varied. Prefer permanent, slow-moving water, and prefer open areas.

Behavior/Reproduction ²

Mating season is between March and June. Females lay 300 to 6500 eggs, often near other leopard frog eggs and often attached to vegetation. The frog reaches maturity one to three years after metamorphosis from its tadpole stage.

During breeding season, leopard frogs are active at night and stay near shallow water. Afterwards, they are more active by day and venture to grasslands and meadows. They return to the pond in winter and hibernate in pond sediments.

Fun Fact ²

Where they share a range with the pickerel frog, leopard frogs may have more square spots. This is an example of mimicry - predators avoid pickerel frogs because they have a bad-tasting chemical in their skin. Leopard frogs do not, but predators associate their spots with the pickerel frog and leave them alone.

Citations ²

http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Lithobates_pipiens/

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Stylurus, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/79039057@N00/2668826479
2. (c) gburg2016, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• AMNH Amphibian Species of the World
• AmphibiaWeb
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• VertNet

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