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Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Chordate
Class: Amphibian
Family: Anuraa
Order: Ranidae
Genus: Lithobates
Species: L. sylvaticus
Evolution
No current subspecies
Wood frogs have been around for 18,000 years
Closest living relative toads
Ancestors
Neobatrachia
Phthanobatrachia
Sooglossidae
Description
Wood frog body color can be shades of brown, red, green, or grey.
Color changes seasonally, and exposure to sunlight causes darkening.
Wood frogs normally have black around their eyes resembling a mask.
Characteristics
Length: 8.2 centimeters
Weight: 8 grams
Life span: 3 years
Male vs Female
Females are larger than males
During breeding season male's thumbs get enlarged
Habitat
Ideal habitat needs an inch of water a week
plants include
Ferns
Bushes
Trees
Grass
Can tolerate 24 degrees Farenhight before freezing
Wood frog prefers wooded areas
Distribution
The Wood frog is found
Most of Canada
Most of Alaska
From Main to Kentucky
Northern Minnesota and all of Wisconsin
Not invasive
Diet
Wood frog eats
Small forest-floor invertebrates
Wood frog eats 2 or 3 insects a day
Wood frog uses their long tongue to catch prey
Prey consists of
Earth worms
Flys
Rolly Pollys
Arachnids
Slugs
Snails
Behavior
The wood frog is a solitary animal
When wood frogs interact in the wild they normally just ignore eachother
Mating
Wood frogs return to the same pond year after year.
Makes quacking or chuckling sounds during mating season to call for a mate.
Breeding season starts early march ends in may.
female wood frogs lay 1,00 to 3,000 eggsa year.
multiple males cling to a fmale until only one is holding left before mating
Amplexus
Stages of development
Egg
Tadpole
Froglet
Premature adult
Adult
Dangers
Larger frogs
Garter snakes
Ribbon snakes
Water snakes
Herons
Raccoons
Skunks
Minks
Abnormalities in wood frogs caused by pollutants like murcery makes wood frogs exepantaly vulnrable to diesease carried in air or water.
Habitat loss due to human expansion.
Competition
Inter species compatiotion is fighting over mates.
Intra species compatiotion is fighting over food.
No effect from invasive species.
IUCN
Least concern
Population around 1,000,000+
Population trend is steady
Impact of humans
Humans have destroyed Wood frogs habitat
Reserchers in Astralia have found that wood frogs near roads have devoloped abnoromalities causing their skin to be weaker causing them to be more vulnerable to disease.
Climate change could effect the wood frog in the future. Although the wood frog freezes solid in the winter the wood frog may die if it gets too cold.
Humans discoverd the Wood frog in 1825
Not much is being done to minimize impact on the wood frog but people are becoming more aware and protecting ecosystems that wood frogs live in.
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