Rana okaloosae) is a rare species of frog found only in western Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

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Physical description

This species ranges from 34 - 49 mm in length, with the female generally being the larger of the sexes. They have no spots on their dorsal surface and unlike other members of the genus Rana

Rana (genus)

Rana is a genus of frogs. Species include such archetypal pond frogs as the common frog of Europe, brown frogs, and the New and Old World true frogs, including the various species of leopard frogs and the American bullfrog. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia, North America,...

they lack webbing between some of their toes. They are dark green with a yellow throat and a black underbelly. Tadpoles are brown with dark spots on the tail and light spots on the ventral surface.

Ecology and behavior

This species was unknown to science until the 1980s. They are typically found in shallow ponds or creeks. Relatively little is known about the reproduction and development of the species. Males call at night, often in areas where bronze frogs (Rana clamitans clamitans) also breed. Females lay several hundred eggs at a time on the surface of the water during the spring and summer. Tadpoles grow into an adult by the next spring. Populations of this frog are threatened by habitat loss and chytrid fungus.