Description: The crawfish frog grows from 2.2 to 3.0 inches in length. It ranges from yellow to brown in color, with a white ventral surface. The numerous dark brown spots on its back each has a light-colored ring around it. It has a distinct skin fold on either side of its back, which are much more pronounced in males than females, and a relatively small tympanum.

Habitat: Moist meadows, pasturelands, river flood plains, pine scrub, golf courses. Hides in burrows of crayfish or rodents when inactive; also under under logs and in sewers. Eggs are laid and larvae develop in flooded fields, ditches, farm ponds, and small lakes; usually in fishless, temporary water.

Range: The crawfish frog is found in former prairie regions from Indiana west to Kansas, south to Texas, and east to Mississippi, though it is believed to be locally extirpated in many regions, and remaining populations are often localized and isolated.

Found in these States: AL | AR | IA | IL | IN | KS | KY | LA | MO | MS | OK | TN | TX |

Diet: Crawfish frogs feed opportunistically on insects and other small invertebrates that pass by their burrow.

Reproduction: The crawfish frog breeds following mild, rainy weather in mid-March throughout most of its range (breeding occurs much earlier in the southern portion of its distribution). During this time, males seek out ephemeral ponds and wetlands that lack fish and begin calling. The low-frequency call may carry over a mile, drawing females in from the surrounding area. Once the females arrive, amplexus takes place and the females deposit up to 7,000 eggs at a time in large, globular masses. The eggs hatch in about 12 days, and the tadpoles complete metamorphosis into froglets within three or four months. The newly metamorphosed juvenile frogs must quickly find a crayfish burrow to occupy to avoid predation. Crawfish frogs become sexually mature at two to three years of age and may live up to seven years or more in the wild.

Status: The crawfish frog is listed as near threatened by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and is listed as endangered in Iowa (where it has likely been extirpated) and Indiana. Habitat loss is the biggest threat to this species, though disease (chytridiomycosis) and competitive pressure from other anurans have also been identified as potential stresses.

Subspecies: Northern Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolatus circulosus) & Southern Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolatus areolatus)

Taxonomy: This species was placed in the genus Lithobates by Frost et al. (2006). However, Yuan et al. (2016, Systematic Biology, doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syw055) showed that this action created problems of paraphyly in other genera. Yuan et al. (2016) recognized subgenera within Rana for the major traditional species groups, with Lithobates used as the subgenus for the Rana palmipes group. AmphibiaWeb recommends the optional use of these subgenera to refer to these major species groups, with names written as Rana (Aquarana) catesbeiana, for example.