True Frog Family

Ranidae

True frogs are smooth-skinned, long-legged, narrow-waisted frogs with horizontal pupils and extensive webbing on the hind feet.  They are excellent jumpers.  Some species have dorsolateral ridges, which are raised longitudinal folds of glandular tissue running parallel to the backbone on the right and left sides of the dorsum.  Adult true frogs are carnivorous, feeding on insects, spiders, crustaceans, and sometimes other vertebrates, while tadpoles feed on algae, bacteria, diatoms, and detritus.

Mating occurs in the spring or summer when males call at breeding sites to attract females.  Breeding males have swollen forearms and thumbs for clasping females behind their forelegs.  Female frogs lay strings or rafts of eggs, sometimes in the tens of thousands.  Eggs hatch within a week or so, and tadpoles metamorphose into frogs anywhere from 2 to 24 months later.

Big Bend National Park Amphibian Species
Shenandoah National Park Amphibian Species

PRIMENet Amphibian Monitoring Program Homepage