Bullfrog chillin’ on the table

Bullfrog chillin’ on the table

The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is a large true frog native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, ponds, and lakes. Bullfrogs can also be found in manmade habitats such as pools, koi ponds, canals, ditches and culverts. The bullfrog gets its name from the sound the male makes during the breeding season, which sounds similar to a bull bellowing. The bullfrog is large and is commonly eaten throughout its range, especially in the southern United States where they are plentiful.

American bullfrogs are large frogs with wide heads, stout bodies, and long, hind legs with fully-webbed hind feet. Bullfrogs have smooth skin which is green to brown in color on their backs, often with dark spots or mottling, and white to grey to yellow in color on their bellies, with or without mottling. Bullfrogs have large eardrums, or tympanum, which are larger in males (twice the size as their eye) than females (same size as their eye). Male bullfrogs can also be distinguished from females by their smaller body size, yellow throat, and deep, low-pitched mating calls bellowed during the breeding season. Adult bullfrogs can weigh over 2 pounds and measure more than 8 inches in length. Bullfrog tadpoles are green to yellow in color with small, dark spots on their backs, and can grow up to 6 inches in length.