The bronze frog (''Lithobates clamitans clamitans'') is a subspecies of ''

Lithobates clamitans ''Lithobates clamitans'' or ''Rana clamitans'', commonly known as the green frog, is a species of frog native to eastern North America. The two subspecies are the bronze frog and the northern green frog. These frogs, as described by their name ...

'' found in the southeastern region of North America.

Description

The bronze frog grows up to 2–4 in (5.4–10.2 cm). Distinguishing characteristics include a bronze to brownish body, a white belly with dark, irregular blotches, and a bright-green upper lip and nose. Males may have yellowish throats. Bronze frogs are smooth-skinned, like all true frogs. They have long hind legs with webbed toes. Two dorsolateral folds begin behind the eye and runs two-thirds the length of body. The tympanum (ear disc) is larger in males.

Behavior

Bronze frogs are nocturnal and solitary. They remain under cover, in logs and crevices, most of the time. Male bronze frogs court females with a distinct call. Researchers agree that the mating call of the bronze frog sounds like someone plucking a loose banjo string. Named for its body color, the bronze frog may be difficult to find until warm, humid evenings, when its mating call is heard. Colloquially referred to as the "banjo frog", the primary breeding call is an explosive "clunk," or "cloink" frequently repeated several times in succession, but less powerfully each time. Like many species of frogs, the males voice an aggressive call when concentrations of these frogs are high in breeding areas. This

call Call or Calls may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Call (poker), a bet matching an opponent's * Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage Music and dance * Call (band), from L ...

is a quick, harsh, spitting sound that sometimes precedes an attack on a competitor.

Distribution

Bronze frogs are found in the southeastern portion of the United States, from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

to the eastern third of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Habitat

Bronze frogs are found in shallow streams, ponds, marshes, springs,

bayous In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

, and

bald cypress ''Taxodium distichum'' (baldcypress, bald-cypress, bald cypress, swamp cypress; ; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a w ...

swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

with plenty of vegetation. They are active both day and night.

Diet

Bronze frogs eat a variety of vertebrates and

arthropods Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

. They eat flies, crickets, fish, small snakes,

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

, tadpoles, and other frogs.

Breeding

It reaches sexual maturity in the first full summer after metamorphosis. Breeding season begins in early spring and lasts through the summer. Females lay 2,000–4,000 eggs in small masses attached to underwater vegetation. Eggs are 1.5 mm when laid, but grow to 6 mm as cells divide. Incubation is one to two weeks. Tadpoles are green with small, dark spots. They grow 1.0–1.5 inches (28 – 33 mm) before they metamorphose (change from tadpoles to frogs). Bronze frogs live seven to 10 years.

References

External links

State of Texas: Bronze Frog

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q49425499, from2=Q4974258 Lithobates Amphibians of the United States Fauna of the Southeastern United States