Lithobates areolatus (Baird and Girard, 1852)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Ranidae > Genus: Lithobates > Species: Lithobates areolatus

Rana areolata Baird and Girard, 1852, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 6: 173. Syntypes: USNM (2 specimens) by original designation; USNM 3304 in error considered holotype by Harper, 1935, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 48: 79, and Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 72. Type localities: "Indianola, [Calhoun County, Texas] and [apparently in error] . . . on the Rio San Pedro of the Gila [Arizona]", USA. Restricted to Indianola, Calhoun County, Texas, USA by lectotype designation.

Rana areolata areolata — Cope, 1875, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 1: 32; Goin and Netting, 1940, Ann. Carnegie Mus., 28: 143. .

Rana circulosa Rice and Davis, 1878, in Jordan (ed.), Manual Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 305. Holotype: Not stated; CHAS 160 according to Goin and Netting, 1940, Ann. Carnegie Mus., 28: 157. Type locality: "Benton Co., Indiana", USA, in error according to Stejneger and Barbour, 1943, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 93: 54, who in error reported the type locality as "Northern Illinois; Mittleman, 1947, Am. Midl. Nat., 38: 474, corrected the error of Stejneger and Barbour (1943), but Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 75, incorrectly revised the type locality to "vicinity of Olney, Richland County, Illinois", USA. Synonymy with Rana areolata by Boulenger, 1919, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 9, 3: 415.

Rana areolata circulosa — Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 28.

Rana octoplicata Werner, 1893, Zool. Anz., 16: 83. Holotype: NHMW. Type locality: "Vereinigten Staaten von Nord-amerika; der genauere Fundort des einen, weiblichen get erhaltenem Exemplars is nicht bekannt." Synonymy by Boulenger, 1893, Zool. Rec., 29: 37. Ambiguously placed here. Boulenger regarded this name to apply to Rana areolata, but Werner, 1894, Jahresber. Abhandl. Naturwiss. Ver. Magdeburg, 1894: 125; and Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, 46: 491, regarded it as a junior synonym of "Leptodactylus ocellatus" (now Leptodactylus latrans).

Rana virescens areolata — Barbour and Cole, 1906, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 50: 153. (Probably based on specimens in the Lithobates berlandieri complex—DRF.)

Rana areolata areolata — Neill, 1957, Herpetologica, 13: 47.

Rana areolata circulosa — Neill, 1957, Herpetologica, 13: 47.

Rana (Rana) areolata — Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 42.

Rana (Pantherana) areolata — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 332; Yuan, Zhou, Chen, Poyarkov, Chen, Jang-Liaw, Chou, Matzke, Iizuka, Min, Kuzmin, Zhang, Cannatella, Hillis, and Che, 2016, Syst. Biol., 65: 835.

Rana (Novirana, Sierrana, Pantherana, Nenirana) areolata — 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) areolata — Hillis and Wilcox, 2005, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 34: 305. This being the interpretation of Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 402, of the nomenclatural act of Hillis and Wilcox, 2005. 

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

Rana (Nenirana) areolata — Hillis, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 335, by implication.

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

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

Rana (Lithobates) areolata areolata — Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 402. 

Rana (Lithobates) areolata circulosa — Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 403. 

Common Names

Ringed Frog (Rana areolata: Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 28).

Northern Gopher Frog (Rana areolata: Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: xi; Smith, 1934, Am. Midl. Nat., 15: 477).

Crawfish Frog (Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 78; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 348; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 12; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 104; 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: 13; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 7; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 8; 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: 13).

Texas Frog (Rana areolata areolata: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 25).

Southern Gopher Frog (Rana areolata: Strecker, 1915, Baylor Univ. Bull., 18: 46).

Western Gopher Frog (Rana areolata areolata: Viosca, 1949, Pop. Sci. Bull., Louisiana Acad. Sci., 1: 10).

Southern Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolatus areolatus: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 78; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 349; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 12; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 104; 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: 13; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 7; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 8; 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).

Hoosier Frog (Rana areolata circulosa: Rice and Davis, 1878, in Jordan (ed.), Manual Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 355; Hay, 1892, Annu. Rep. Dept. Geol. Nat. Res. Indiana for 1891: 476).

Northern Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolatus circulosus: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 78; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 349; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 12; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 104; 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: 13; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 7; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 8; 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).

Distribution

East Texas and western Louisiana north through eastern Oklahoma (with an extension into central Arkansas) to eastern Kansas through Missouri to southeastern Iowa, thence east to southwestern Indiana, then south generally east of the Mississippi River to western Kentucky, western Tennessee and much of Mississippi to west-central Alabama. Absent from the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas and local throughout southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana, USA.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: United States of America, United States of America - Alabama, United States of America - Arkansas, 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 - Mississippi, United States of America - Missouri, United States of America - Oklahoma, United States of America - Tennessee, United States of America - Texas

Endemic: United States of America

Comment

In the Rana areolata subgroup of the Rana pipiens group, subgenus Rana as defined by Hillis, Frost, and Wright, 1983, Syst. Zool., 32: 132–143. In the equivalent Rana palustris group of Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 42, and Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 332. Reviewed by Altig and Lohoefener, 1983, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 324: 1–4 (including Rana sevosa and Rana capito); see comments under those taxa. See statement of geographic range, habitat, and conservation status (as Rana areolata) in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 631. Byrd and Hanebrink, 1974, Herpetol. Rev., 5: 69, provided a record for northeastern Arkansas. Plummer, 1977, Herpetol. Rev., 8: 38, provided a record for west-central Arkansas. Parris and Redmer, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 526–528, and Dodd, 2013, Frogs U.S. and Canada, 2 : 461–466, provided accounts that summarized relevant literature. Elliot, Gerhardt, and Davidson, 2009, Frogs and Toads of N. Am.: 208–209, provided an account, photos, and advertisement call. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 222–223, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. Holt, 2015, Herpetol. Rev., 46: 378–379, provided a record for Sumter County, Alabama, USA. Lannoo, Stiles, Saenz, and Hibbitts, 2018, Copeia, 2018: 575–579, reported on comparative call characteristics within the subgenus Nenirana. Guyer and Bailey, 2023, Frogs and Toads of Alabama: 121–124, provided a detailed account for Alabama, USA. Bassett, 2023, Reptiles & Amphibians, 30(e18486): 1–18, provided an updated county distribution map for Texas, USA. Boycott, Earl, and Shepard, 2024, Herpetol. Conserv. Biol., 19: 173–188, employing call surveys in Louisiana suggested that the species is very rare or extirpated from historic sites in Louisiana. 

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