Lithobates clamitans
This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Lithobates clamitans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Green frog |
| Status | LC |
| Status system | IUCN3.1 |
| Genus | Lithobates |
| Species | clamitans |
| Authority | (Latreille, 1801) |
Lithobates clamitans is a widespread North American ranid commonly known as the green frog, noted for its loud call and affinity for lentic waters. It is familiar to observers across diverse regions and figures in natural history accounts, field guides, and ecological studies associated with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, United States Geological Survey, and university herpetology collections at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. The species appears in conservation assessments linked to agencies like the IUCN and regional agencies including the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Taxonomy and etymology
The species was described in the early 19th century and is placed within the family Ranidae, a lineage treated in taxonomic revisions by researchers affiliated with American Museum of Natural History, Natural History Museum, London, and the National Museum of Natural History (France), and cataloged in checklists used by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Etymologically, the specific epithet recalls Latin and classical naming practices reflected in works by Carl Linnaeus and contemporaries, and its taxonomic history intersects with publications from Georges Cuvier and later monographers at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Modern molecular studies from laboratories at Harvard University and Yale University have clarified phylogenetic placement within Ranidae and relations to congeners examined in comparative analyses published through the Royal Society and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Description
Adults typically present a robust, dorsally green to brown coloration with dorsolateral ridges and a conspicuous tympanum; such morphological details are documented in field guides produced by the Audubon Society, National Geographic Society, and the Peterson Field Guide series. Size ranges and sexual dimorphism are quantified in faunal surveys by state agencies like the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and academic papers from the University of Florida and Cornell University ornithology and herpetology labs. Vocal sac anatomy, call frequency, and resonance characteristics have been analyzed in bioacoustic studies from researchers at Syracuse University and the University of Michigan, with spectrographic comparisons appearing in conference proceedings held by the Acoustical Society of America.
Distribution and habitat
The species occupies a broad latitudinal range across eastern and central North America, with documented occurrences in provinces and states recorded by organizations such as the Canadian Wildlife Service, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Habitats include freshwater ponds, marshes, swamps, and riparian zones monitored under programs by the Environmental Protection Agency and landscape-level assessments by the Nature Conservancy and National Park Service. Range maps and county-level records are maintained in databases curated by the HerpNet consortium and regional museums like the Field Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Behavior and ecology
This frog exhibits semi-aquatic habits and territorial calling behavior during breeding seasons, with ecological interactions documented by researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and university teams at Duke University and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Diet consists mainly of invertebrates and small vertebrates as recorded in stomach-content studies published by the Ecological Society of America and in theses from the University of Texas at Austin. Predatory and competitive interactions with sympatric species have been explored in ecological journals affiliated with the British Ecological Society and the Ecological Society of Australia, and its role in wetland food webs features in management plans from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Reproduction and life cycle
Mating systems, clutch size, and larval development follow patterns detailed in reproductive ecology work from laboratories at Michigan State University and field studies coordinated with the New England Aquarium and regional conservation agencies like the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Calling phenology and temperature-dependent development have been assessed in experiments at climate research centers including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and university climate labs at Columbia University. Metamorphosis timing and juvenile dispersal are included in population models used by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and regional biodiversity surveys sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Predators, parasites, and diseases
Known predators include birds and mammals cataloged by ornithological and mammalogical collections at the American Museum of Natural History and Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, while parasitological surveys from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and veterinary colleges at Iowa State University document trematodes, nematodes, and hemoparasites. Diseases of conservation concern, including chytridiomycosis caused by chytrid fungi studied at the University of California, Davis and ranavirus infections examined at the University of Exeter, have been monitored in surveillance programs coordinated by the World Organisation for Animal Health and regional health departments.
Conservation status and threats
Assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, populations remain stable in many parts of the range yet face localized declines tied to wetland loss cataloged in reports by the United Nations Environment Programme, water pollution tracked by the Environmental Protection Agency, and habitat fragmentation analyzed in studies from the U.S. Geological Survey. Conservation measures are implemented through partnerships involving the Nature Conservancy, state natural heritage programs, and academic research initiatives funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Monitoring and management actions frequently appear in recovery plans and wetland restoration projects coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management and regional conservation NGOs.
Category:Ranidae Category:Amphibians of North America