Bittern Bottoms Conservation Area is located in Cass County in the Grand River bottoms about eight miles southeast of Harrisonville.
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Scientific Name
Lithobates clamitans (formerly Rana clamitans)
Family
Ranidae (true frogs) in the order Anura (toads and frogs)
Description
The North American green frog is a medium-sized frog whose general color is green to greenish tan to brown, with the upper lip and head usually green. There may be faint dark spots on the back, and the legs usually have indistinct dark spots or bars. The sides of the belly often are marked with fine, irregular, dark gray lines. The belly is white with some dusky markings. Adult males have a bright yellow throat.
There is a distinct dorsolateral fold (a ridge of skin along the sides of the back); this fold extends only to the middle of the body, not all the way to the groin. The external eardrum (tympanum) is large and conspicuous; in males, it is larger than the eye.
The call of males is an explosive “bong” that sounds like a loose banjo string. The sound may be emitted once or repeated three or four times.
Similar species: The North American green frog looks similar to the North American bullfrog but is smaller and has a ridge of skin along the sides of the back, from behind the eye to midbody, that is not found on bullfrogs.
Missouri has eight members of the true frog family. These are typically medium to large frogs that have long legs, smooth skin, and well-developed webbing between the hind toes. Another common characteristic is a glandular fold or ridge of skin along each side of the back (these are called dorsolateral folds); of Missouri's true frogs, only the North American bullfrog lacks these folds.
Other Common Names
Green Frog
Size
Adult length (snout to vent): usually 2 to 3 inches; occasionally to 4¼ inches.
Where To Find
Occurs in about three-quarters of the state, mostly southeast of a diagonal line from the southwestern to northeastern corners of the state.
Habitat and Conservation
In Missouri, green frogs typically live in creeks and streams, especially in the Ozarks. Other habitats include river sloughs, swamps, marshes, and ponds. Some live in caves. Among human-built habitats, they may live in golf course ponds and landscape water gardens around homes.
When disturbed, a green frog quickly jumps into the water, often emitting a high-pitched squawk as it jumps.
Green frogs are rather solitary, especially in small stream habitats, where each deep pool may have a single adult in residence.
Green frogs typically overwinter in aquatic habitats; they prefer to shelter under large rocks or other debris in flowing streams that do not freeze and provide plenty of oxygen.
Green frogs in Missouri are mainly active between mid-March and mid-November, sometimes into early December if the autumn weather is mild.
Food
North American green frogs eat a variety of insects, spiders, millipedes, snails, slugs, spiders, and small crayfish.
Status
The North American green frog is classified as a game species in Missouri and can only be harvested for food or live bait during a defined season with a bag limit. Consult the current Wildlife Code of Missouri for regulations.
Life Cycle
Life Cycle
Breeding choruses in Missouri occur from mid-April until mid-July, peaking in June. Adult green frogs migrate into breeding ponds April through October, with the peak from May to mid-June. Any permanent standing water can be used as a breeding site, including ponds, swamps, sloughs, beaver ponds, and slow-moving areas of rivers and streams. The choicest sites for calling males are ones with an abundance of emergent plants, and males compete intensively for these locations.
Females lay eggs in a wide, floating mass on the water surface. Each female can lay 4,000 eggs or more. Females are capable of laying more than one clutch of eggs during the breeding season. Tadpoles begin hatching within 3–5 days. Most do not transform into froglets until the following summer, though some tadpoles may transform the same summer as hatching.
Although green frogs have lived for 7–10 years in captivity, most individuals in the wild probably live 5–6 years.
Human Connections
Frogging is like a cross between hunting and fishing. Consult the Wildlife Code of Missouri for regulations. Frog legs have a mild flavor similar to that of fish. They can be battered and fried or sautéed in butter. They make a good base for Cajun dishes that call for fish or shellfish.
Ecosystem Connections
Frogs are predators that help keep populations of insects and other small animals in balance. They, and especially their eggs, tadpoles, and young froglets, become food for both aquatic and terrestrial predators ranging from water bugs to fish to grackles to raccoons.
Adult green frogs will change their behavior when bullfrogs are present by selecting breeding sites away from the more aggressive bullfrogs.
Taxonomy: The true frog family (Ranidae) is the largest and most widespread family of frogs. It contains 365 species in 14 genera and probably originated in Africa. Representatives of this cosmopolitan family occur on every major land mass except New Zealand, Antarctica, most oceanic islands, the West Indies, and southern South America. The largest genus in the family in the New World (North and South America) is Lithobates (formerly Rana), with about 50 species. Missouri’s species, formerly in genus Rana, are all in genus Lithobates. As of taxonomic understandings in 2016, the Rana genus is considered restricted to the eastern hemisphere and western North America. In Missouri, the genus Lithobates is represented by eight species.
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Jim Rathert
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Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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About Reptiles and Amphibians in Missouri
Missouri’s herptiles comprise 43 amphibians and 75 reptiles. Amphibians, including salamanders, toads, and frogs, are vertebrate animals that spend at least part of their life cycle in water. They usually have moist skin, lack scales or claws, and are ectothermal (cold-blooded), so they do not produce their own body heat the way birds and mammals do. Reptiles, including turtles, lizards, and snakes, are also vertebrates, and most are ectothermal, but unlike amphibians, reptiles have dry skin with scales, the ones with legs have claws, and they do not have to live part of their lives in water.