Southern Leopard Frog
Southern Leopard Frog
Lithobates sphenocephalus
Amphibia
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
4-8 yrs
Size
Medium
Diet
Insectivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Freshwater wetland
Range
North America
Movement
Hopping
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Camouflage
Status
Common

About

A slender, pointy-snouted frog named for the dark, irregular spots scattered across its bright green-to-brown back. It can leap over three feet in a single bound to escape predators along the ponds and marshes it calls home.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
  2. 2.
    tadpole
    A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
  3. 3.
    juvenile
    A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
  4. 4.
    adult
    Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Amphibia
Order
Anura
Family
Ranidae
Genus
Lithobates
Species
Lithobates sphenocephalus