Description: The Plains leopard frog grows from 2.0 to 4.3 inches in length, and is typically brown in color. Their common name originates from the distinctive irregular, dark colored spotting on their backs. They have long, powerful legs, and are capable of leaping great distances. The frog's spots are brown or greenish brown, and are not ringed in white. There is a distinct white line above the sides of the jaw. The lines along the sides of the back are broken toward the rear, with the short broken section closer to the center of the back. There is often a white spot in the center of the tympanum, and a dark spot on the top the snout.
Habitat: Usually in the vicinity of streams, ponds, creek pools, reservoirs, irrigation ditches, and marshes in areas of prairie and desert grassland, farmland, and prairie canyons; also oak and oak-pine woodland as habitat. Generally in or near water, but may range into surrounding terrestrial habitat in wet weather. When disturbed, often seeks refuge in vegetation surrounding bodies of water. Burrows into mud and leaves of pond and stream bottoms in winter. Has been found in caves in Oklahoma. Eggs and larvae develop in temporary or permanent pools, ponds, flooded areas, sloughs, and marshes; commonly in muddy water. Males frequently call while floating at the water surface
Range: The Plains leopard frog, as its name implies, is found throughout the Great Plains of the United States, from Indiana west across central and southern plains to South Dakota, south to Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, with a disjunct population in Arizona.
Diet: Metamorphosed frogs generally eat various invertebrates associated with the ground surface. Larvae eat suspended matter, organic debris, algae, minute organisms, and plant tissue.
Reproduction: Lays clutch of up to a few thousand eggs in spring, summer, or early fall, often after heavy rains. Larvae from early clutches metamorphose in summer, those from late clutches may overwinter and metamorphose the following spring.
Status: The Plains leopard frog Frog is fairly common throughout its range, and holds no special conservation status, except in the state of Indiana, where it is endangered. This is probably because of the use of fertilizers and pesticides in farms located near this frog's habitats.
Subspecies: None
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.
Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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