Florida Bog Frog

Rana okaloosae
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ranidae
Genus: Rana
Species: R. okaloosae
Binomial name
Rana okaloosae
Moler, 1985
Synonyms
Lithobates okaloosae

Rana okaloosae[1][2][3]) is a rare species of frog found only in western Florida.

Contents

Physical description

This species ranges from 34 - 49 mm in length, with the female generally being the larger of the sexes. They have no spots on their dorsal surface and unlike other members of the genus Rana they lack webbing between some of their toes. They are dark green with a yellow throat and a black underbelly. Tadpoles are brown with dark spots on the tail and light spots on the ventral surface.[4][5]

Ecology and behavior

This species was unknown to science until the 1980s. They are typically found in shallow ponds or creeks. Relatively little is known about the reproduction and development of the species. Males call at night, often in areas where bronze frogs (Rana clamitans clamitans) also breed[6]. Females lay several hundred eggs at a time on the surface of the water during the spring and summer. Tadpoles grow into an adult by the next spring. Populations of this frog are threatened by habitat loss and chytrid fungus.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Hillis, D. M. 2007. Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42:331-338.
  2. ^ Hillis, D. M., and T. P. Wilcox. 2005. Phylogeny of the New World True Frogs (Rana). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 34:299-314.
  3. ^ Pauly, G. B., D. M. Hillis, and D. C. Cannatella. 2009. Taxonomic freedom and the role of official lists of species names. Herpetologica 65: 115-128
  4. ^ Moler, P. 1993. Rana okaloosae Moler Florida Bog Frog. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 561
  5. ^ Priestley, A. S., T. A. Gorman, and C. A. Haas. 2010. Comparative morphology of Rana okaloosae and Rana clamitans clamitans tadpoles. Florida Scientist 73: 20-26.
  6. ^ Gorman, T.A., D. C. Bishop, and C. A. Haas. 2009. Spatial interactions between two species of frogs: Rana okaloosae and R. clamitans clamitans. Copeia 2009: 138-141

References

  • Hammerson et al. (2004). Rana okaloosae. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map, a brief justification of why this species is vulnerable, and the criteria used
  • Moler, P. 1993. Rana okaloosae Moler Florida Bog Frog. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  • Al Nasa'a, M. 2003. Rana okaloosae, Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 10, 2006
  • Hillis, D.M. & Wilcox, T.P. (2005): Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 34(2): 299–314. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.007 PDF fulltext.
  • Hillis, D. M. (2007) Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 42: 331–338.
  • Pauly, Greg B., Hillis, David M. & Cannatella, David C. (2009): Taxonomic freedom and the role of official lists of species names. Herpetologica 65: 115-128. PDF fulltext