Green Frog
(Lithobates clamitans)
Photos and Article by Maryland Master Naturalist, Debbie Satorius
- Green frogs can come in many variations, green, greenish brown, brownish, yellowish green and olive, with some rare individuals being blue. They are generally brighter in the front with small random black spots.
- Males usually have a bright yellow throat. Their tympanum (visible external ear on the side of their heads) is much larger than the eye in males and is the same size as the eye in females. Note the two males in the bottom pictures.
- Green frogs have a well defined back ridge that extends from the back of the eye and continues the length of their body.
- They are characteristically frogs of brooks and small streams, but can be found in shallow fresh water, in springs, creeks, and ditches. It is an abundant frog found in southeastern Canada, and in the US , west to the Great Lakes and as far south as Kentucky. Further south they are called Bronze Frogs, with fewer markings and duller in color. They overwinter in the water, usually buried in substrate.
- Green frogs have excellent vision and use it to find and detect prey such as insects, grayfish, spiders, even small frogs and snakes. They hunt both day and night.
