Green Frog

The green frog is a medium-sized frog whose general color is green to greenish tan to brown, with the upper lip and head usually green. There may be faint dark spots on the back, and the legs usually have indistinct dark spots or bars. The sides of the belly often are marked with fine, irregular, dark gray lines. The belly is white with some dusky markings. Adult males have a bright yellow throat.

There is a distinct dorsolateral fold (a ridge of skin along the sides of the back); this fold extends only to the middle of the body, not all the way to the groin. The external eardrum (tympanum) is large and conspicuous; in males, it is larger than the eye.

The call of males is an explosive “bong” that sounds like a loose banjo string. The sound may be emitted once or repeated three or four times.

Two subspecies were formerly recognized for Lithobates clamitans: the green frog (L. clamitans melanota) and the bronze frog (L. clamitans clamitans). Genetic analysis does not support formal separation of the two subspecies but it affirms that there are two distinct color phases. The northern color phase is generally green to olive, while the southern color phase is more brown to bronze. The green color phase is found throughout most of Missouri except for the southeastern portion, where the bronze phase typically occurs.

Similar species: The green frog looks similar to the American bullfrog but is smaller and has a ridge of skin along the sides of the back, from behind the eye to midbody, that is not found on bullfrogs.

Missouri has eight members of the true frog family. These are typically medium to large frogs that have long legs, smooth skin, and well-developed webbing between the hind toes. Another common characteristic is a glandular fold or ridge of skin along each side of the back (these are called dorsolateral folds); of Missouri's true frogs, only the American bullfrog lacks these folds.