The Bullfrog

Here is all the basic information on Bullfrogs we could muster.

I. Bullfrog Taxonomy:

Bullfrog (Rana catesbiana)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Sub-Phylum: Vertebrata

Class: Amphibia

Order: Anura

Family: Ranidae

Genus: Rana

II. Bullfrog Cladogram:

   

III. Bullfrog Facts:

• Bullfrogs are territorial and solitary animals.

• They live primarily in marshes and ponds and are never too far away from a body of water.

• They eat anything they can swallow, and swallow everything whole. These include insects, spiders, crayfish, small birds, worms, small turtles, smaller frogs, etc.

• A Bullfrog's predators include birds of prey, raccoons and any other bigger animal.

• They are the only frogs to not have ridges on their backs and are easily identified by dark green spots located on their hind legs.

• They hibernate in the winter.

• They are most active at night making them nocturnal.

• Female Bullfrogs tend to be larger (8 in) than their male counterparts (6 in).

• They are the largest species of frog in North America.

• A female Bullfrogs' tympanum are about the size of their eye; a male's tympanum are bigger.

• The male attracts females with his mating call. Once a female is lured in, the male grabs the female with its front legs in its amplexus and fertilizes the female.

• A female Bullfrog can lay up to 20,000 eggs. These take 4-5 days to hatch and float on the surface of ponds. They taste rather badly to any predators and are usually avoided.

• Once the eggs have hatched, the tadpoles take 3-4 years to fully metamorphose. Like the eggs; Bullfrog tadpoles also taste bad to predators and are usually left alone.

• Bullfrogs prefer to ambush their prey when hunting.

• Bullfrogs can breathe through their skin, lungs and mouth lining. While underwater they close their nostrils and breath primarily through their skin.