I used to be able to distinguish green frogs from bullfrogs, but have forgotten what the specific differences are. They are quite similar to eachother and I thought that, other than adult size, there was some feature about the "ear" or tympanum that made them easier to distinguish. I looked it up and found this:
Green frogs can be a range of colors including green, greenish brown, brown, yellow green, olive and some rare individuals appearing
blue. Generally these frogs have small irregular black sport covering their backs and dark transverse bands across their legs. Their ventral regions are white or yellow with the yellow appearing generally in the males. One of the most obvious features of the Green frog is the large tympanum behind the eye. In males, the tympanum is much larger than the eye and females generally have a tympanum the same size or smaller than the eye (Gillilland, 2000).
In the pictures below (male left, female right), notice the large tympanum in the male and the dorsolateral ridge running down the back of both frogs.
Starting at the eyes and running posteriorly down the body are a well defined pair of dorsolateral ridges. Generally, females are slightly larger in size than males. In Connecticut, males range from 52-84 mm in length while females measure 52-94 mm in length (Klemens, 1993). Because much of a green frog’s life is spent in water, their toes are well webbed. This enables them to be powerful swimmers.
In Connecticut, Green Frogs are often confused with Bull Frogs (
Rana catesbeiana). Bull Frogs share many features with Green Frogs: both are green or brown in color, both have webbed feet, and both have a dorsolateral ridge. The key difference between Green Frogs and Bull Frogs is the location of the dorsolateral ridge as seen in the two photos below. The dorsolateral ridge of Bull Frogs starts at the eye and hooks around the tympanum much like the stem of eye glasses hooks around the ears of humans. Bull Frogs are also much larger than Green Frogs ranging from 90-152 mm in length with large males reaching 203 mm in length.
In the Bull Frog pictures below (male right, female left), notice the dorsolateral ridge starting at the eye and hooking around the tympanum.
Green Frogs will spend the winter in the water, usually buried in the substrate at the bottom. Some will occasionally spend the winter on land in small groups under masses of leaves or in underground holes or tunnels left vacant by other animals.
Green frogs are opportunistic “sit and wait” predators that feed both day and night. They will feed on a variety of moving prey that is large enough for them to detect and small enough to swallow (Jenssen, 1967). This includes annelids, mollusks, millipedes, centipedes, crustaceans, arachnids, a variety of insects, small fish, other frogs, vegetable matter and their own shed skin.
Green frogs have several predators at all stages of metamorphosis. Eggs are often eaten by turtles. Tadpoles are prey of whirligig beetles, dragonfly nymphs, giant water bugs, water scorpions, frogs, and other predators (Jenssen, 1967). Adult frogs are preyed upon by a variety of birds, snakes, turtles, raccoons, and other larger frogs.
To avoid predation, startled adult green frogs will emit a squawk when they jump. This serves as an alert call for other frogs in the area.
From this, I now retract my statement about your frog, Capewind. I believe it to be a Bullfrog.
Catfishnut
