The Green Frog (Rana clamitans) is a species of frog native to the eastern half of the United States and Canada. There are two subspecies-the Bronze Frog and the Northern Green Frog. Males have a tympanum twice the diameter of the eye and a bright yellow throat. Female tympanum diameter is about the same as that of the eye. Dorsolateral ridges, prominent, seam-like skin folds that run down the sides of the back, distinguish the green frog from the bullfrog, which entirely lacks them.
Ten Facts about Green Frog
- Adult green frogs range from 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) in body length (snout to vent).
- Green frogs live wherever there is shallow fresh water-ponds, road-side ditches, lakes, swamps, streams, and brooks.
- Green frogs breed in semi-permanent or permanent freshwater.
- The distinctive call sounds like a plucked banjo string, usually given as a single note, but sometimes repeated.
- The breeding season is from April to August.
- A single egg clutch may consist of 1000 to 7000 eggs.
- Males become sexually mature at 1 year, females may mature in either 2 or 3 years.
- Green frogs will attempt to eat any mouth-sized animal they can capture, including insects, spiders, fish, crayfish, shrimp, other frogs, tadpoles, small snakes, birds, and snails.
- Green Frogs can be found in much of the eastern half of the United States.
- Life span can be 10-12 years.
