Lithobates berlandieri (Baird, 1859)

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

Rana berlandieri Baird, 1859, Rep. U.S-Mex. Bound. Surv., 2(Pt. 2-Rept.): 27. Type(s): Not stated, and only one specimen figured although USNM 3293 (9 specimens) and USNM 131513 (according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 72) and MCZ 155 (2 specimens, exchanged from USNM, according to Barbour and Loveridge, 1929, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 69: 326) reported as syntypes; USNM 131513 designated lectotype by Pace, 1974, Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 148: 25. Type locality: "Southern Texas generally"; corrected to "Brownsville, Tex.", USA by Kellogg, 1932, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 160: 205; lectotype from "Brownsville, Texas", USA.

Rana halecina berlandieri — Cope, 1875, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 1: 32.

Rana halecina austricola Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 517. Syntypes: By indication, the Mexican specimens of "Rana halecina" referred to in a series of publications, including Baird, 1859, Rep. U.S-Mex. Bound. Surv., 2(Pt. 2-Rept.): 1–35; Brocchi, 1881, Miss. Scient. Mex. Amer. Centr., Rech. Zool., 3(2, livr. 1): 10, Rept; Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus. . . . ; specimen of "Rana lecontei" illustrated by Brocchi, 1881, Miss. Scient. Mex. Amer. Centr., Rech. Zool., 3(2, livr. 1): Pl. 4, fig. 1, selected lectotype by Kellogg, 1932, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 160: 207. Type locality: "Mexican specimens referred to in these publications"; designated as "Vera Cruz", Mexico by lectotype designation of Kellogg, 1932, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 160: 208, and restriction (apparently in ignorance of Kellogg's earlier action) by Smith and Taylor, 1950, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 33: 351; designated as "Matamoros, Tamaulipas", Mexico, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 83.

Rana virescens austricola — Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 398.

Rana virescens berlandieri — Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 398.

Rana virescens var. austricola — Ives, 1891, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 43: 461.

Rana austricola — Ruthven, 1912, Zool. Jahrb., Jena, Abt. Syst., 32: 305 (suggested to be similar to Rana lecontei); Noble, 1918, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 38: 315 (based on specimens of a species other than Rana berlandieri).

Rana halecina var. austricola — Boulenger, 1919, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 9, 3: 413.

Rana pipiens berlandieri — Schmidt, 1941, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 22: 487.

Rana pipiens austricola — Smith, 1947, J. Washington Acad. Sci., 37: 409; Shannon, 1951, Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus., 101: 478; Shannon and Werler, 1955, Herpetologica, 11: 85.

Rana berlandieri berlandieri — Sanders, 1973, J. Herpetol., 7: 87.

Rana tlaloci Hillis and Frost, 1985, Occas. Pap. Mus. Nat. Hist. Univ. Kansas, 117: 10. Holotype: KU 194434, by original designation. Type locality: "Xochimilco, Distrito Federal, México". Synonymy by Chambers, Lara-Tufiño, Campillo-García, Cisneros-Bernal, Dudek, León-Regagnon, Townsend, Flores-Villela, and Hillis, 2025, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 122 (19): 6. 

Rana neovolcanica Hillis and Frost, 1985, Occas. Pap. Mus. Nat. Hist. Univ. Kansas, 117: 3. Holotype: KU 200782, by original designation. Type locality: "3. 2 km NW Tapalpa, Jalisco, México, elevation 2088 m". Synonymy by Chambers, Lara-Tufiño, Campillo-García, Cisneros-Bernal, Dudek, León-Regagnon, Townsend, Flores-Villela, and Hillis, 2025, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 122 (19): 6. 

Rana (Rana) tlaloci — Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 41–42, by implication.

Rana (Rana) neovolcanica — Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 41–42, by implication.

Rana (Pantherana) tlaloci — 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 (Pantherana) neovolcanica — 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, Sierrana, Pantherana, Scurrilirana) neovolcanica — 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.

Lithobates (Lithobates) tlaloci — Dubois, 2006, C. R. Biol., Paris, 329: 830; Dubois, 2006, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 325.

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

Lithobates neovolcanicus — 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.

Rana (Scurrilirana) tlaloci — Hillis, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 335–336, by implication.

Rana (Scurrilirana) neovolcanica — Hillis, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 335–336, by implication.

Rana (Rana) berlandieri — Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 41, by implication.

Rana (Pantherana) berlandieri — 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, Sierrana, Pantherana, Scurrilirana) berlandieri — 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, Sierrana, Pantherana, Scurrilirana) tlaloci — 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) berlandieri — Hillis and Wilcox, 2005, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 34: 305 (this being the interpretation by Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 404, of the nomenclatural act of Hillis and Wilcox). 

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

Rana (Scurrilirana) berlandieri — Hillis, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 335–336, by implication.

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

Rana berlandieri berlandieri — Chambers, Lara-Tufiño, Campillo-García, Cisneros-Bernal, Dudek, León-Regagnon, Townsend, Flores-Villela, and Hillis, 2025, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 122 (19): 8. 

Rana berlandieri tlaloci — Chambers, Lara-Tufiño, Campillo-García, Cisneros-Bernal, Dudek, León-Regagnon, Townsend, Flores-Villela, and Hillis, 2025, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 122 (19): 8. 

Common Names

Rio Grande Leopard Frog (Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 83; 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: 346; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 12; Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 27; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 106; Lee, 1996, Amph. Rept. Yucatan Peninsula: 122; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 13; Lee, 2000, Field Guide Amph. Rept. Maya World: 126; 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: 240; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 7; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 16; 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).

Berlandier's Frog (Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 25).

Tlaloc's Leopard Frog (Lithobates tlaloci [no longer recognized]: Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 28; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 109; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 17).

Transverse Volcanic Leopard Frog (Lithobates neovolcanicus [no longer recognized]: Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 27; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 108; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 16).

Distribution

Central and western Texas and southern New Mexico (USA) through eastern Chihuahua and eastern Durango to central Veracruz, Guanajuato, and Hidalgo, Mexico; introduced into the lower Colorado River and lower Gila River drainages of Sonora and Baja California del Norte, Mexico, and California and Arizona, USA.

neovolcanicus: Pine-oak forest and mesquite-grassland at elevations of 1500–2500 m along the southern edge of the Mexican Plateau in the states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Colima, Zacatecas, Michoacan, México, and Hidalgo, Mexico.

tlaloci: Historically known throughout the Valley of Mexico; recently found only at Xochimilco. See comment. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Mexico, United States of America, United States of America - New Mexico, United States of America - Texas

Introduced: Mexico, United States of America - Arizona, United States of America - California

Comment

In the Rana berlandieri subgroup of the Rana pipiens complex as defined by Hillis, Frost, and Wright, 1983, Syst. Zool., 32: 132–143. In the Rana (Pantherana) berlandieri group of Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 331. Adult and larval morphology of nominal Rana neovolcanica described in the original publication (Hillis and Frost, 1985, Occas. Pap. Mus. Nat. Hist. Univ. Kansas, 117: 1–14). Hillis, 1988, Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 19: 39–63, reported an undescribed species, confused with Rana berlandieri, from the Meseta Central of Chiapas, Mexico. Introduced population in northwestern Mexico and southwestern USA reported by Platz, Clarkson, Rorabaugh, and Hillis, 1990, Copeia, 1990: 324–332. Platz, 1991, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 508: 1–4, reviewed the species. See accounts by Lee, 1996, Amph. Rept. Yucatan Peninsula: 122–124; Campbell, 1998, Amph. Rept. N. Guatemala Yucatan Belize: 94–95, Lee, 2000, Field Guide Amph. Rept. Maya World: 126–127, and McCranie and Wilson, 2002, Amph. Honduras: 473–482. Casas-Andreu, Cruz-Aviña, and Aguilar-Miguel, 2002, Herpetol. Rev., 33: 63–64, discussed the range of nominal Rana neovolcanica. Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 240, provided a brief account, figure, and map. See comment under Rana forreri. Zaldívar-Riverón, León-Regagnon, and Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2004, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 30: 38–49, provided a molecular phylogenetic analysis of this species and near relatives, including serveral undescribed relatives: "Pagapayo", "Arcelia", and "Colima". Rorabaugh, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 530–532, and Dodd, 2013, Frogs U.S. and Canada, 2 : 466–471, provided accounts that summarized relevant literature, particularly with reference to the USA population. Hillis and Wilcox, 2005, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 34: 308, suggested that Lithobates tlaloci may be conspecific with Lithobates neovolcanicus. Rorabaugh and Servoss, 2006, Herpetol. Rev., 37: 102, provided a record for the Colorado River drainage of Sonora, Mexico, presumably an extension from an introduced population in Arizona. Lemos-Espinal and Smith, 2007, Anf. Rept. Chihuahua Mexico: 55–56, provided an account for Chihuahua, Mexico, including photographs and dot map. Lemos-Espinal and Smith, 2007, Anf. Rept. Coahuila México: 54, provided an account for Coahuila, Mexico. See statement of geographic range, habitat, and conservation status (as Rana neovolcanica) in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 514 (Rana tlaloci), 633 (Rana neovolcanicus). Elliot, Gerhardt, and Davidson, 2009, Frogs and Toads of N. Am.: 226–227, provided an account, photos, and advertisement call. Ahumada-Carrillo, Vázquez-Huizar, Vázquez-Diaz, and García-Vázquez, 2011, Herpetol. Rev., 42: 397, provided a record for Zacatecas, Mexico, and discussed the range of nominal Lithobates neovolcanicus. Lemos-Espinal and Dixon, 2013, Amphibians and Reptiles of San Luis Potosí: 67–68 (as Lithobates berlandieri) and pp. 72–73 (as Lithobates neovolcanicus), provided an account for San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Valdes-Lares, Martín-Muñoz de Cote, and Muñiz-Martínez, 2013, Herpetol. Rev., 44: 648–649, provided new records for Durango, Mexico. Rodríguez-Canseco, Ayón-Escobedo, and González-Estupiñán, 2013, Herpetol. Rev., 44: 622, reported sympatry of this species (Lithobates neovolcanicus) with Lithobates spectabilis, Lithobates psilonota, and Lithobates forreri. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 223–224, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. Lemos-Espinal and Smith, 2015, Check List, 11(1642): 1–11, noted the occurrence of Lithobates berlandieri and Lithobates neovolcanicus in Hidalgo, Mexico, without providing a specific locality. Lemos-Espinal and Dixon, 2016, Amph. Rept. Hidalgo: 390–391 (Lithobates berlandieri) and pp. 394–395 (Lithobates neovolcanicus), provided brief accounts and maps for Hidalgo, Mexico. Rendón Suárez, Mercado-Silva, Palomera García, and Iñiguez Dávalos, 2016, Southwest. Nat., 61: 241–273 provided records of Lithobates neovolcanicus from the Marabasco Basin of the Jalisco–Colima border region. Painter, Stuart, Giermakowski, and Pierce, 2017, Western Wildlife, 4: 36, commented on the status and county range in New Mexico, USA. Lemos-Espinal, Smith, and Valdes-Lares, 2019, Amph. Rept. Durango: 74–75, provided a brief account for Durango, Mexico. Quezada-Hipólito, Smith, Suazo-Ortuño, Alvarado-Díaz, González, Thammachoti, and Smart, 2019, Rev. Mexicana Biodiversidad, 90(e902448): 1–15, commented on the impact of vulcanism in the Trans-Volcanic belt of Mexico on biogeography of Lithobates neovolcanicus. Hernandez, Herr, Stevens, Cork, Medina-Nava, Vialpando, Warfel, Fields, Brodie, and Graham, 2019, Check List, 15: 81, provided records for Manuel Benavides municipality, north-eastern Chihuahua, Mexico. Leyte-Manrique, Mata-Silva, Báez-Montes, Fucsko, De Santis, García-Padilla, Rocha, Johnson, Porras, and Wilson, 2022, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 16: 133–180 (Lithobates berlandieri and Lithobates neovolcanicus), , discussed the range and conservation status in Guanajuato, Mexico. Tepos-Ramírez, Garduño-Fonseca, Peralta-Robles, García-Rubio, and Cervantes Jiménez, 2023, Check List, 19: 269–292, discussed the distribution and conservation status of Lithobates berlandieri and Lithobates neovolcanicus in Queretaro, Mexico. Introduced populations in California and Arizona, USA, discussed and mapped to county by Meshaka, Collins, Bury, and McCallum, 2022, Exotic Amph. Rept. USA: 50–51. Bassett, 2023, Reptiles & Amphibians, 30(e18486): 1–18, provided an updated county distribution map for Texas, USA. Gatica-Colima, Porras, Mata-Silva, De Santis, Rocha, and Johnson, 2024, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 18: 108–186, discussed the range and conservation status in Chihuahua, Mexico.          

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