Aquarana clamitans (Latreille, 1801)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Ranidae > Genus: Aquarana > Species: Aquarana clamitans

Rana clamitans Latreille In Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille, 1801 "An. X", Hist. Nat. Rept., 2: 157. Holotype: MNHNP 1397, according to Guibé, 1950 "1948", Cat. Types Amph. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat.: 35. Type locality: "la Caroline, près de Charlestown [= Charleston]", South Carolina, USA.

Rana clamata — Daudin, 1802 "An. XI", Hist. Nat. Rain. Gren. Crap., Quarto: 54. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Rana calamitans — Bosc, 1803, in Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 10: 1–34. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Ranaria (Rana) melanota Rafinesque, 1820, Ann. Nat., Lexington, 1: 5. Types: None designated nor known to exist. Type locality: "Lake Champlain [New York and Vermont] and Lake George [New York], USA". Synonymy by Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 519; Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 419; Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 394.

Rana fontinalis LeConte, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 282. Types: None designated nor known to exist; possibly in ANSP or USNM. Type locality: Not designated, although rendered as "Maine to Virginia", by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 79, who restricted this to "vicinity of New York City", USA, this restriction considered invalid by Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 413, for reason of not being based on disclosed evidence. Synonymy by Duméril and Bibron, 1841, Erp. Gen., 8: 374; Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: 131; Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 188; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 36; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 79. 

Rana flaviviridis Harlan, 1826, Am. J. Sci. Arts, 10: 58. Types: None designated or known to exist. Type locality: "the middle states; abound in the vicinity of Philadelphia", Pennsylvania, USA; rendered as "vicinity of Philadelphia", USA, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 80. Synonymy by Duméril and Bibron, 1841, Erp. Gen., 8: 374; LeConte, 1855, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 7: 424 (with Rana fontinalis); Baird, 1859, Rep. Upon Explor Surv. Route Railroad Mississippi–Pacific Ocean, 10 (Part 6, No. 4): 45; Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: 10; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 36.

Rana horiconensis Holbrook, 1838, N. Am. Herpetol., 3: 91. Types: Frog figured in pl. 16 of the original publication; not now known to exist. Type locality: "outlet of Lake George", New York, USA. Synonymy by LeConte, 1855, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 7: 424 (with Rana fontinalis); Baird, 1859, Rep. Upon Explor Surv. Route Railroad Mississippi–Pacific Ocean, 10 (Part 6, No. 4): 45; Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 188; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 36;  Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 80.

Rana nigricans Agassiz, 1850, Lake Superior: 379. Syntypes: MCZ 7 (3 specimens), according to Barbour and Loveridge, 1929, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 69: 330. Type locality: "various localities along the northern shores of Lake Superior [Ontario, Canada]"; rendered as "northern shores of Lake Superior", by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 80. Synonymy by Baird, 1859, Rep. Upon Explor Surv. Route Railroad Mississippi–Pacific Ocean, 10 (Part 6, No. 4): 45; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 36.

Rana clamator — LeConte, 1855, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 7: 424. Incorrect subsequent spelling of Rana clamitans? Synonymy by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 36; Boulenger, 1919, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 9, 3: 413.

Rana nigrescens — LeConte, 1855, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 7: 425. Presumably an ncorrect subsequent spelling of Rana nigricans Agassiz. Synonymy by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 36; Boulenger, 1919, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 9, 3: 413.

Rana clamitans melanota — Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 394.

Rana clamitans clamitans — Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 394, by implication; Conant, 1958, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am.: 508.

Rana (Rana) clamitans — Guibé, 1950 "1948", Cat. Types Amph. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat.: 35. Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 41; by implication.

Rana (Aquarana) clamitans — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 331; Yuan, Zhou, Chen, Poyarkov, Chen, Jang-Liaw, Chou, Matzke, Iizuka, Min, Kuzmin, Zhang, Cannatella, Hillis, and Che, 2016, Syst. Biol., 65: 835. 

Rana (Novirana, Aquarana) clamitans — Hillis and Wilcox, 2005, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 34: 305. See Dubois, 2006, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 317–330, Hillis, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 331–338, and Dubois, 2007, Cladistics, 23: 390–402, for relevant discussion of nomenclature. Invalid name formulation under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999) as discussed by Dubois, 2007, Cladistics, 23: 395.

Rana (Novirana) clamitans — Hillis and Wilcox, 2005, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 34: 305. Interpretation by Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 413, of the nomenclatural act of Hillis and Wilcox, 2005. 

Lithobates clamitans — Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 369; Che, Pang, Zhao, Wu, Zhao, and Zhang, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 43: 1–13; by implication.

Lithobates (Aquarana) clamitans — Dubois, 2006, C. R. Biol., Paris, 329: 829; Dubois, 2006, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 325.

Lithobates clamitans clamitans — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 8).

Lithobates clamitans melanota — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 7).

Rana (Lithobates) clamitans clamitans — Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 414. 

Rana (Lithobates) clamitans melanota — Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 413. 

Aquarana clamitans — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 424. 

English Names

Large Northern Bullfrog (Rana horiconensis [no longer recognized]: De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1(3): 61).

Common Spring Frog (Rana fontinalis [no longer recognized]: LeConte, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 284).

Yellow-throated Green Frog (Rana fontinalis [no longer recognized]: Storer, 1840, Boston J. Nat. Hist., 3: 42).

Spring Frog (Rana fontinalis [no longer recognized]: De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1(3): 61).

Spring Frog (Rana clamitans: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 25; Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 28; Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 131; Brimley, 1907, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 23: 159; Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 37).

Spring Frog (Rana flaviviridis [no longer recognized]: Smith, 1833, Rep. Geol. Mineral. Bot. Zool. Massachusetts: 552).

Cow Frog (Rana clamitans: Schmidt and Necker, 1935, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 5: 66).

Southern Spring Frog (Rana clamitans clamitans: Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 394).

Northern Spring Frog (Rana clamitans melanota: Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 394).

Bawling Frog (Rana clamitans: Smith, 1833, Rep. Geol. Mineral. Bot. Zool. Massachusetts: 552; Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 131).

Yellow Throated Green Frog (Storer, 1839, Rep. Ichthyol. Herpetol. Massachusetts: 236 [Rana fontinalis, no longer recognized]; Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 131 [Rana clamitans]).

Belly Bumper (Rana clamitans: Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 131).

Green Frog (Verrill, 1863, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 9: 198; Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 28; Dickerson, 1906, The Frog Book: 198; Fowler, 1907, Annu. Rep. N.J. State Mus. for 1906: 131; Wright, 1932, Life Hist. Frogs Okefinokee Swamp, 2: 14; Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: xi; Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 37; Carr, 1940, Univ. Florida Biol. Sci. Ser., 3: 65; Stebbins, 1951, Amph. W. North Am.: 351; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 80; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 177; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 77; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 13; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 107; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 13; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 14; Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 242; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 7; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 17; Frost, Lemmon, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 14).

Brown Frog (Rana clamitans: Viosca, 1949, Pop. Sci. Bull., Louisiana Acad. Sci., 1: 10).

Bronze Frog (Rana clamitans clamitans: Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 177; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 340; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 13; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 107; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 13; Lithobates clamitans: Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 8).

Green Frog (Rana clamitans melanota: Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 177; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 341; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 13; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 13; Lithobates clamitans melanota: Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 8).

Northern Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans clamitans: Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 8).

Bronze Frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota: Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 8; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 8).

Distribution

Eastern North America from southern Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba (Canada) south through eastern Minnesota, eastern Iowa, and central Missouri to eastern Oklahoma and East Texas; thence east to to north-central Florida and southern Quebec, Labrador, and Nova Scotia (Canada) with isolated populations in Newfoundland; introduced in Hawaii, the vicinity of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada), and in the USA at Toad Lake (Washington), and near Ogden (Utah).

Geographics occurrence

Natural resident: Canada, United States of America, United States of America - Alabama, United States of America - Arkansas, United States of America - Connecticut, United States of America - Delaware, United States of America - District of Columbia, United States of America - Florida, United States of America - Georgia, United States of America - Illinois, United States of America - Indiana, United States of America - Iowa, United States of America - Kansas, United States of America - Kentucky, United States of America - Louisiana, United States of America - Maine, United States of America - Maryland, United States of America - Massachusetts, United States of America - Michigan, United States of America - Minnesota, United States of America - Mississippi, United States of America - Missouri, United States of America - New Hampshire, United States of America - New Jersey, United States of America - New York, United States of America - North Carolina, United States of America - Ohio, United States of America - Oklahoma, United States of America - Pennsylvania, United States of America - Rhode Island, United States of America - South Carolina, United States of America - Tennessee, United States of America - Texas, United States of America - Vermont, United States of America - Virginia, United States of America - West Virginia, United States of America - Wisconsin

Introduced: Canada, United States of America - Hawaii, United States of America - Utah, United States of America - Washington

Comment

In the Rana catesbeiana group of XXX. In the equivalent Rana clamitans group of Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 41, in the equivalent subgenus Aquarana of Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 331. Mecham, 1954, Texas J. Sci., 6: 1–23, discussed geographic variation. Reviewed by Stewart, 1968, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 337: 1–4. Ramer and Hurst, 1983, Copeia, 1983: 141–155, described size-related variation in advertisment call. Stewart, 1984, Copeia, 1984: 210–213, redescribed the type and discussed publication data. Bee, Kozich, Blackwell, and Gerhardt, 2008, Ethology, 107: 65–84, reported on individual variation in advertisement calls. Austin and Zamudio, 2008, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 48: 1041–1053, reported on mtDNA phylogeographic structure and the non-exclusiveness of Lithobates clamitans with respect to Lithobates okaloosae. Korky and Smallwood, 2011, Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc., 47: 1–10, reported on larval variation in New Jersey. Pauley and Lannoo, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 549–552, and Dodd, 2013, Frogs U.S. and Canada, 2 : 522–547, provided accounts that summarized relevant literature. Elliot, Gerhardt, and Davidson, 2009, Frogs and Toads of N. Am.: 190–193, provided an account, photos, and advertisement call. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 228–229, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. Guyer and Bailey, 2023, Frogs and Toads of Alabama: 101–104, provided a detailed account for Alabama, USA.  

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