Family: Ranidae, True Frogs view all from this family

Description 2 1/4-4 1/2" (5.7-11.4 cm). Stout-bodied frog. Cream to brown or black, with irregular dark spots on back and sides. Adjacent spots frequently are fused into horizontal blotches. Dorsolateral folds sometimes highlighted with yellow. Web extends about half length of longest toe on hind foot. Skin smooth to warty.

Subspecies Southern (R. a. areolata), dark spots with light borders, chest white, back smooth; Louisiana and e. Texas to sw. Arkansas and se. Oklahoma.
Northern (R. a. circulosa), dark spots with light borders, chest white, back rough; ne. Oklahoma and e. Kansas to Indiana and south to Mississippi.

Voice   A deep, resonating guttural snore. Heavy rains in late winter sometimes stimulate choruses. Some authorities combine this species with the more easterly Gopher Frog (R. capito).

Breeding Year-round in southern areas; in spring and early summer in northern areas. Egg masses are laid in shallow water, sometimes attached to vegetation.

Habitat Moist meadows, prairie woodlands, and pine scrub.

Range Separate populations in w. Louisiana and e. Texas, and drainage systems of Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers.

Discussion Nocturnal. These frogs will travel great distances to reach breeding ponds. Otherwise they seldom range far from the entrance of their daytime retreat - a stump hole, an abandoned burrow of a crawfish or small rodent, or the active burrow of a Gopher Tortoise. They will swallow almost any prey they can catch, including other frogs and toads.