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Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris)
The pickerel frog is a medium-sized ranid (true frog) that can be identified by its angular brown spots, which often run in two rows along its back. It also has a light line running along the upper lip and a bright yellow groin area. The general appearance and the call of the pickerel frog are very similar to the northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens pipiens). Northern leopard frogs usually have light-bordered circular spots and lack the yellow in the groin. The call of the pickerel frog is low, snore-like croak, similar to the northern leopard frog call, but shorter and with less carrying power. Pickerel frogs are known to sometimes call underwater.
The pickerel frog is the rarest ranid in Wisconsin. Most records for this
species are in the western part of the state; only a few records exist
in northeastern Wisconsin. This rarity may be due to somewhat picky habitat
preferences, which include the clear, cool waters of streams, bogs, and
spring-fed ponds. Polluted and stagnant waters are usually avoided. Pickerel
frogs are much more abundant in the northeastern United States than in
the Great Lakes region.
Pickerel frogs have an irritating skin secretion that makes them unappetizing
to some predators. Frogs kept in the same container as pickerel frogs
may die for these skin secretions and many snake species refuse to eat
this species. However, the pickerel frog may have gotten its name from
the popularity of it as bait for fish of the Pickerel family, which implies
that some predators find it appetizing.
References:
Harding, J. H. 1997. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region. The University of Michigan Press. 378 pp.
Contant, R., and Collins, J. T. 1998. Reptiles and Amphibians
Eastern/Central North America, Third Edition, Expanded. Houghton Mifflin
Co. p 616.
Text contributed by UW Green Bay graduate student Steve Price
© 2001-2004 The Cofrin Center
for Biodiversity and the University of Wisconsin Green Bay,
All Rights Reserved
Last
updated on
May 12, 2014