Frogs

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at 4 frog species that we have here in Greene County.

Crawfish Frog; This frog can grow up to 4 inches in length, it ranges from yellow to brown in color with brown spots with each spot having a light color ring a round them. It is nocturnal and inhabits streams, creeks and ponds that have muddy bottoms and feeds mainly on crawfish and will make use of the crawfish burrow in the mud. The crawfish frog is listed as near threatened.

Southern Leopard Frog; This frog can reach a length of 3-1/2 inches, it is green to light brown in color with dark brown to black spots, this is the reason for the common name (Leopard). It is mainly nocturnal and prefers shallow freshwater streams, ponds and lakes. It is carnivorous eating most insects they can fit in their mouth.

Greene Frog; This Frog can reach a length of 4 inches, contrary to its name it can be found in a variety of colors, light green, bronze and brown depending on its habitat. Its mainly nocturnal but can be found active during daylight hours. It feeds on anything it can fit in its mouth, such as crickets, fish, grasshoppers, smaller frogs, birds and moths.

Bullfrog; This frog can reach nearly 8 inches in length and weigh 1-1/2 pounds or more and is the largest frog in North America. It ranges in color from green to brown with dark green, brown or black spots. It inhabits ponds, lakes, swamps and marshy areas. Its hunting technique is to set and wait, it feeds on insects, fish, snakes, birds and other frogs.

All of these frogs are in the True Frog Family (Ranidae).

Frogs are an indicator species and are in decline as are many amphibians. What is causing this decline, scientists believe that several factors are contributing to the decline of amphibians, such as habitat loss, climate change, UV radiation, contaminants and pollutants, disease and predation by invasive species as possible causes.

So goes the amphibians, So goes the human race.