Leopard Frog
Scientific name: Rana sphenocephala
Appearance: Leopard Frogs are medium sized frogs that may
reach a maximum body length of 3 1/8 in. (8 cm). Leopard Frogs
have variable coloration. Ground color may vary from light
brown to dark green. The snout is rather sharply
pointed. Leopard Frogs have several rows of distinct brown
spots on their back and legs. Two distinct lateral skin folds
(yellow or gold in color) extend from eye to the groin. Their belly
and throat are creamy white. Male bilateral vocal sacs are paired and look like
waterwings when inflated.
Habitat: Leopard Frogs may be found around just about any body of water. During or
after rains leopard frogs can be found long distances from the water. Leopard Frogs are
commonly found in grassy areas, damp pastures, fields, sodlands, ponds, lakes, flooded
ditches, irrigation and drainage canals, stream and river edges. This is one of the few
frogs able to colonize brackish coastal waters.
Vocalization: Leopard Frogs most actively call in the winter and early spring, although
they can be heard all year. The call is variable. The Leopard Frog call sounds like
chicken clucks or the sound made when rubbing your fingers over the surface of a wet
balloon.
Reproduction/Eggs: Female Leopard Frogs lay eggs in clumps that usually adhere to
surface/subsurface vegetation. More than 1,000 eggs have been recorded either in a
mass or in several clumps.
Abundance: These are the most abundant frogs in Florida.
Range: The range of the southern Leopard Frog extends from
New Jersey south through the Coastal Plain down through Florida;
westward through Kentucky, southern Indiana and southern
Illinois, to eastern Iowa, eastern Oklahoma, and eastern Texas.