Pig frog
Pig frog | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Ranidae |
Genus: | Lithobates |
Species: | L. grylio
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Binomial name | |
Lithobates grylio Stejneger, 1901
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Synonyms | |
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The pig frog (Lithobates grylio)[2] is a species of aquatic frog found in the Southeastern United States, from South Carolina to Texas. Some sources also refer to it as the lagoon frog or the southern bullfrog.
Taxonomy
Pig frogs (Lithobates grylio) are a species of frog that belong to the class Amphibia, the order Anura, the family Ranidae, and the genus Lithobates. They are part of the phylum Chordata, which includes animals with a notochord and a hollow nerve cord. Pig frogs are vertebrates, meaning they have a backbone, and they are tetrapods, meaning they have four limbs. They are adapted to living both on land and in water, and they are commonly found in the southeastern United States. Norwegian-American naturalist Leonhard Stejneger described the pig frog in 1901, and it still bears its original name. The name comes from the calls the frog makes, sounding like a pig grunting.[3]
Description
The pig frog is
Ecology and behavior
Almost entirely aquatic, they are found predominantly on the edges of
Diet
Pig frogs are opportunistic feeders and will eat a wide variety of prey, including insects, worms, and small vertebrates. Their primary
Reproduction
They breed from April to August, laying their eggs in large surface films, usually over vegetation. The eggs hatch in several days, and the tadpoles may take a year to transform into adult frogs. Pig frogs are sexually dimorphic, with males and females having similar growth rates until the snout-vent length reaches about 100mm, at which point females grow faster and eventually reach a larger size than males. Due to their larger size as adults, females tend to have higher survivability rates than males. Therefore, they are likely to be more abundant in the wild.
Conservation status
The pig frog holds no particular conservation status and is relatively common in its range. The species has been introduced and established itself in
Pig frogs have been reported to be raised for food by Chinese farmers, along with bullfrogs.[7]
Gallery
Footnotes
- . Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- Frost, Darrel (2011). "American Museum of Natural History: Amphibian Species of the World 5.5, an Online Reference". Herpetology. The American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
- ^ "Lithobates grylio (Stejneger, 1901)". itis.gov. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ "Pig Frog". ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- JSTOR 1565206.
- ^ Herrmann, Bree. "Lithobates grylio (Pig Frog)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ Court receives warning letter from local authorities in frog compensation case Archived 2016-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, based on June 2010 newspaper articles.
References
- Frogs & Toads of Georgia: Pig Frog
- Animal Diversity Web: Rana grylio
- Amphibian Species of the World: Rana grylio
- IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2021). "Lithobates grylio". . Retrieved June 11, 2022. Database entry includes a range map and a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
- .
- Hillis, D.M. (2007). Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 42: 331–338.
- Stejneger L. 1901. A New Species of Bullfrog from Florida and the Gulf Coast. Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 24: 211-215. (Rana grylio, new species).
External links
- Media related to Lithobates grylio at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Pig frog at Wikispecies