Lithobates clamitans clamitans
Bronze Frog

Green frogs (Lithobates clamitans clamitans) are native only to the Nearctic region. They are found in the United States and Canada from Maine and the Maritime provinces of Canada through the Great Lakes region and into western Ontario and Oklahoma, south to eastern Texas, east into northern Florida and extending up the entire east coast of the United States. (Harding, 1997)

Green frogs are found in a wide variety of habitats that surround most inland waters, such as: swamps, wooded swamps, ponds, lakes, marshes, bogs, banks of slow moving rivers and streams, oxbow lakes, sloughs, and impoundments. Juveniles may disperse into wooded areas or meadows during times of rain. Green frogs overwinter in the water usually buried in the substrate. (Harding and Holman, 1992; Harding, 1997; Tyning, 1990)

Green frogs are green, greenish brown, brownish, yellowish green and olive, with some rare individuals being blue. They are generally brighter in front with small irregular black spots. Their legs have dark transverse bands. They are yellowish or white below, and males usually have a bright yellow throat. The tympanum (eardrum) is large; in males the tympanum is much larger than the eye and females tend to have a tympanum the same size as the eye. The dorso-lateral ridge is well defined and extends from the back of the eye posteriorly down the body. The toes are well webbed and the first fingers do not extend beyond the second. The tibia and femur are equal to ½ of the body length, which is 7.5 to 12.5 cm for adults. (Harding and Holman, 1992; Jordan, 1929; Tyning, 1990)

Eggs hatch in 3 to 7 days. After hatching, green frog tadpoles are usually green with small black dots and often have yellow bellies. It can take them anywhere from 3 to 22 months to begin metamorphosis into full grown frogs. Some undergo this transition before the winter, but many tadpoles go into hibernation and wait until the spring to transform. Green frogs reach their maximum size when they are 4 to 5 years old.

Female green frogs choose their mates based on the desirability of their territories for egg laying. Satellite males may also be present during the breeding period of green frogs. A satellite male is described as a smaller male, unable to acquire and defend territories, and it is often found in areas protected by a larger male. The satellite male will wait for the opportunity to mate with a female that is responding to the larger more dominant male frog's vocalizations.

Breeding takes place in late spring; variations in temperature and region can influence actual breeding times. The breeding season is 1 to 3 months long and occurs in a variety of habitats, such as swamps, ponds, marshes, bogs, and slow moving streams. Once a female has chosen a male, amplexus will begin. During amplexus, 1000 to 7000 eggs may be laid. The egg masses float on the water surface or hang from emergent aquatic vegetation. Wells (1976) has shown that multiple egg clutches are possible, the second egg clutch is on average smaller, with 1000 to 1500 eggs. Eggs hatch in 3 to 7 days and will complete the tadpole stage of development in 3 to 22 months. (Harding and Holman, 1992; Tyning, 1990; Wells, 1976)

Female green frogs nurture their eggs inside their bodies before they are laid and fertilized. Once the eggs are laid, there is no further parental involvement in their development.

Average lifespan in the wild is unknown, but captive animals can live to 10 years.

Green frogs are active during the day and at night. They become dormant during cold weather. Green frogs are mainly solitary, except during the breeding season, when they congregate at breeding ponds.

Males establish breeding territories and maintain them throughout the breeding period. Territories are found in shallow water and are reported to be 0.9 to 6.1 m in diameter. Males usually sing from selected areas inside their territories while occasionally patrolling the outside edges. (Tyning, 1990)

Green frogs produce as many as six different calls. Males attracting a mate give an advertisement call and a high-intensity advertisement call. Their advertisement call has been compared to the pluck of a loose banjo string. Male frogs defending a territory from an intruding male usually give aggressive calls and growls. The release call is given by non-receptive females and by males accidentally grabbed by another male. Finally, the alert call is given by males and females when startled or attacked by a predator.

Green frogs have an excellent sense of vision and use this to detect and capture prey. (Harding and Holman, 1992; Tyning, 1990)

Green frogs are primarily carnivores and eat a wide variety of insects and other invertebrates from both land and water, such as slugs, snails, crayfish, spiders, flies, caterpillars, butterflies, and moths. They also eat other vertebrates, such as small snakes and frogs. Green frogs practice "sit and wait" hunting and therefore eat whatever comes within reach. Tadpoles mainly eat diatoms, algae, and tiny amounts of small animals such as zooplankton (copepods and cladocerans). (Jenssen, 1967)

Green frogs are preyed upon by a variety of animals. Tadpoles and eggs are eaten by leeches, dragonfly larvae, other aquatic insects, fish, turtles, and herons. Adult frogs are eaten by larger frogs, turtles, snakes, herons, other wading birds, raccoons, otters, mink, and humans.

Green frogs often look much like mink frogs where the two species occur together. This may be a form of mimicry because mink frogs have a musky skin secretion that makes them foul tasting to many predators. Green frogs do not have a foul taste, so may be taking advantage of their resemblance to mink frogs to avoid being preyed upon.

Green frogs are common and abundant and serve as a food source for many other animals. They also eat large quantities of insects and other animals, thus impacting their populations.

Green frogs on occasion are harvested for food consumption, generally known as "frog legs". They are used by the scientific community in research and for educational purposes in biology classrooms from both high schools and colleges. (Harding, 1997)

There are no known negative effects of green frogs.

Green frogs are abundant throughout all of their range. Although limb deformities and other abnomalities have been reported in green frog populations, possibly as a result of water contamination, they are still numerous and widespread.

One population of green frogs is known as 'bronze frogs.' They are usually bronze or brownish in color and have fairly plain markings. They also tend to be smaller than other green frogs. Bronze frogs are found in the southeastern United States.