Mink Frog

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Mink Frog
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Family: Ranidae Genus: Lithobates Species: L. septentrionalis
Binomial name
Lithobates septentrionalis Baird, 1854
Synonyms
Rana septentrionalis

The Mink Frog (Lithobates septentrionalis^[1][2], previously Rana septentrionalis) is a small species of frog native to the United States and Canada. They are so named for their scent, which reportedly smells like a mink. The scent is more akin to that of rotting onions to those unfamiliar with mink. It is also sometimes referred to as the North Frog.

Contents 1 Physical description 2 Ecology and behavior 2.1 Reproduction 3 Geographic range 4 Conservation Status 5 References

[edit] Physical description

The Mink Frog is a small frog, growing up to 2 to 3 inches (4.8 to 7.6 cm) in length. The dorsum is generally green in color, with darker green and brown blotching and the belly is a cream, yellow or white in color. They are sexually dimorphic in that males typically have a bright yellow colored throat, while females have a white colored throat, and the tympanum of the male is larger than the eye, while the female's is smaller than or the same size as the eye.

[edit] Ecology and behavior

The Mink Frog is predominantly aquatic, living among the vegetation (especially among lily pads) in ponds, swamps, and streams around wooded areas. They feed on a wide variety of things, including spiders, snails, beetles, and other invertebrates. As tadpoles they consume primarily algae and decaying plant matter.

[edit] Reproduction

Mating generally takes place in late spring and early summer. Males call to attract females while floating in the water. Between 500 and 4,000 eggs can be laid by the female at any one time, generally in deep water. Tadpoles remain in the larval stage for approximately one year before metamorphosing into froglets. Maturity is reached in a year for males, and two years for females.

[edit] Geographic range

Mink frogs are found in the United States in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and New York. They are also found in Canada in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.

[edit] Conservation Status

In recent years it seems that the general populations of Mink frogs are in decline. (Harding 1997) In a 1999 study conducted by David Gardiner and David Hoppe it was noted that there was an increase in Mink frog deformites. "The spectrum of deformities includes missing limbs, truncated limbs, extra limbs (including extra pelvic girdles), and skin webbings. We also describe a newly recognized malformation of the proximal-distal limb axis, a bony triangle. In this abnormality, the proximal and distal ends of the bone are adjacent to one another forming the base of a triangle. The shaft of the bone is bent double and protrudes laterally, the midpoint of the bone forming the apex of the triangle." (Gardiner, 1999) The study comes to the conclusion that these deformities are a result of exposure to exogenous retinoids, but more study is needed to make a sure determination.

[edit] References