Frog ID: Green Frog or Bullfrog

[seandelevan]

What do you think?

 

[addy1]

I would say green frog, you can see the ridges running down the back, bull frogs don't have that.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Agree - green frog. Those ridges (technically called 'dorsolateral folds') running down the back are the tell tale sign.

 

[seandelevan]

Cool...yeah I’m pretty sure he was the same guy at my pond in the spring...first time I’ve seen him in awhile and has put on some size since.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

@seandelevan

Dorsal ridges are the way to tell if it's a green frog, however I'm not completely convinced that's what I'm seeing in the photo, or if it's just the way the lighting is hitting it, as well as it being a thinner frog. Look at this comparison below, and when you get the chance, head outside and see if your frog has dorsal ridges or not. It's a very distinct line that runs from the back of the ear all the way down the side almost to the rear leg. The frog in your photo looks a little skinny, so be sure not confuse the boniness of it as dorsal ridges. The ridges are very clearly raised up from the skin.

 

[AlyssaFish]

I love it; it's cute.

 

[seandelevan]

Hmmm what about the snout though? Aren’t bullfrogs more rounded?

 

[Mmathis]

I say green frog. In my part of the country, we have the same little guy, but he’s called a “bronze” frog. Apparently, the two are either the same frog, or they are subspecies of the same frog.... The bronze frog is one of my absolute favorites! I love that they sound like a banjo being plucked (but it’s a different sound than that made by a bullfrog). We had one at our old house and we called “him” Banjo! I was so sad when we had to fill in the pond, because it meant losing Banjo. My goal was to catch Banjo and relocate him to our new house (which is just a few miles from our new house). Mission accomplished!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Hmmm what about the snout though? Aren’t bullfrogs more rounded?

It's all about dorsal ridges, no matter what the snout shape is. The two species can share many physical features, but dorsal ridges are the tell tale sign.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I say green frog. In my part of the country, we have the same little guy, but he’s called a “bronze” frog. Apparently, the two are either the same frog, or they are subspecies of the same frog.... The bronze frog is one of my absolute favorites!

Yes, bronze frogs are really just a subspecies of the Green frog.