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., 6: 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, 1825, 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., 6: 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. 

Common 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).

Geographic 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 - Iowa, 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. MacGuigan, Mount, Watkins-Colwell, Near, and Lambert, 2022, Ichthyol. & Herpetol., 110: 602–617, reported on the molecular phylogeography, concluding that Aquarana clamitans is a single species, where the notion of subspecies is of limited use. Introduced populations in the USA discussed and mapped to county by Meshaka, Collins, Bury, and McCallum, 2022, Exotic Amph. Rept. USA: 54–55. Bassett, 2023, Reptiles & Amphibians, 30(e18486): 1–18, provided an updated county distribution map for Texas, USA. 

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