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Males are 34.8-45.8 mm long, and females are 38.2-48.8 mm long. "The species is characterized by an unspotted dorsum, distinct dorsolateral folds that do not reach the groin, and reduced webbing of the foot". The reduced webbing distinguishes Lithobates okaloosae from all other American congeners.
"At least three phalanges of the 4th toe are free of webbing and at least two phalanges of all other toes are free".
Lithobates okaloosae has a dark green or green-brown back, a black belly and a yellow throat. It can have lighter spots on the lower jaw.
Lithobates okaloosae tadpoles have an olive brown coloration and have buff spots on the tail. The tadpoles' ventral surfaces are marked with white spots.
Range length: 34.8 to 48.8 mm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
Adults and tadpoles have patterns of skin coloration that are cryptic, making them less visible to predators. As with most frogs, adults will jump away from predators and hide in the water if they can. We have no information on which predators attack this species.
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
We have no information on how long these frogs live.
This species lives in or near shallow, nonstagnant seeps with somewhat acidic water (pH 4.1-5.5). It's also found along shallow, boggy overflows of larger seepage streams. It is often associated with black titi and Atlantic white cedar.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial ; freshwater
Terrestrial Biomes: forest
Aquatic Biomes: rivers and streams
Wetlands: bog
Other Habitat Features: riparian
This is very rare species of frog. Lithobates okaloosae is found in only a small area of western Florida (Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties). It is "associated with small tributary streams of East Bay, Shoal, and Yellow rivers."
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
We have no information on the food habits of this species. However, it probably feeds like other species of it's genus (Rana). In this case, then adults would be predators on small animals, mostly invertebrates like insects and spider, possibly very small vertebrates, such as other tiny frogs.
If the larvae feed like other members of the genus, then they are grazing on algae, feeding on detritus, and possibly consuming some small zooplankton.
Animal Foods: amphibians; insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods; zooplankton
Plant Foods: algae
Other Foods: detritus
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore ); detritivore
Not much is known about the development of Lithobates okaloosae. In general eggs are laid near the surface of the water in thin gelatinous masses. The tadpoles overwinter, and they metamorphose during the following spring or summer. The adults remain year long in the areas used as breeding habitats.
Development - Life Cycle: metamorphosis
In "Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida," Moler describes Lithobates okaloosae as rare. This species was discovered in 1982 by Paul Moler, and has been located at only 23 sites, associated with small, cool, clear seepage streams. Three of these localities are based only on single specimens, so these sites probably don't support viable populations.
Residential developments in the areas where the frog lives convert streams into chains of lakes (through a series of dams). This poses a threat to Florida's Bog Frog habitats. So, it is important that the streams where the frogs live are protected (this can be done through the management of streamside vegetation).
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable
Males of this species call to females during the breeding seasone with a series of gutteral "chucks," which they repeat at about 5 notes/sec, slowing audibly at the end. There is variation in the number of notes per call, and in intervals between cals depending on conditions. The frogs also issue single quieter notes, in response to calls coming from other nearby males.
Rana okaloosae's call is similar to Rana virgatipes.
Communication Channels: acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Not much information is available on Lithobates okaloosae, because it is limited to one small geographic location, and it is very rare. "Our knowledge of this species is currently limited to distribution, seasonality, and some aspects of larval life history" (Moler, 1992).
Males call through a "series of 3-21 gutteral chucks repeated at about five notes per second, but slowing audibly at the end." (Moler, 1992). The frog's calls are heard from mid-April to mid-September. We have no information on the number or pattern of matings in this species. In other species in the genus Rana, males attempt to fertilize the eggs of multiple females. Females may also exercise choice, and allow several males to fertilize their eggs.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
They deposit several hundred black eggs as a surface film (in thin gelatineous masses). Lithobates okaloosae tadpoles overwinter and metamorphose the next spring or summer.
Breeding season: Late spring through summer.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (External ); oviparous
There is no parental care in this species.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement
Unknown to science until 1982, the rare Florida Bog Frog, Lithobates okaloosae, was first described from Malone Creek, Okaloosa County, in the western Florida panhandle.This is a very local endemic species, known only from adjoining parts of Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties.Experts estimate that it occurs within an area 7.7 mi2 (20 km2) in size.Most of the documented sites (90%) are within the Eglin Air Force Base grounds.
Moderate in size, the Florida Bog Frog has the distinction of being the smallest North American species in its family (Ranidae).From nose to tail (snout vent length) males measure on average 1.58 inches (40.2 mm).Females are slightly larger (41.5 mm).It is light brownish-green in color, with a lighter-colored stripe down the ridges on each side of its back.Its face and throat are yellow, and it has copper-brown colored irises.
The Florida bog frog inhabits shallow, slow-flowing waters in acidic bogs, ponds, creeks and seeps along tributaries of the East Bay, Shoal and Yellow Rivers.This frog lives in early-successional, rather than mature, habitats so is dependent on disturbance (especially forest fire) to maintain its habitat from getting overgrown.Florida bog frogs occur amongst herbs, forbs, grasses, and lichens often in association with sphagnum moss beds and sparse woody vegetation including titi (Cyrilla racemiflora) trees, and Atlantic white cedar trees.
Monitoring shows that L. okaloosae adults stay within a very local home range extending on average 187 m2 (0.05 acres). In a day, individuals generally move less than 6.6 feet (2 m).They breed March-September.From water 1.4 inches (3.5 cm) deep,
males advertise for females with a series of pulses described as a rattling train. Males appear to choose calling sites appropriate for egg deposits, as females lay 150-300 eggs very close by (within an average of 14 centimeters of calling site).Females produce a small, sticky eggmass that floats on the water surface, sometimes sticking to vegetation or the stream bank.Tadpoles hide in algae mats in slow, shallow water with complex vegetation, presumably to avoid predators, such as the banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata) and the red fin pickerel (Esox americanus). Tadpoles overwinter, and metamorphose into frogs the following spring.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists L. okaloosae as a vulnerable species.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) lists it as threatened on the Florida Endangered and Threatened Species. Its highly restricted range makes the Florida bog frog particularly vulnerable to extinction.Degradation and development of its sensitive environment is the greatest threat to this species’ survival, although it does appear to tolerate some habitat disturbance, including silted streams.
In addition to habitat decline, the Florida bog frog is susceptible to disease outbreak.Testing shows sub-lethal levels of chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) infection across its populations.This fungus has decimated populations of amphibians world-wide.Ranaviruses also present major concern.Furthermore, climate changes could have a drastic effect on Florida bog frog populations, as it would not tolerate drought or inundation of streams from rising ocean levels.
The Florida bog frog is one of seven species in the clamitans section of genus Rana.It is distinguished from its slightly larger, closely related sister species the bronze frog (Lithobates clamitans) by the degree of webbing on its toes, morphology of the vocal cords, and distinctive calls.Genetic analyses indicate that overlapping populations of the widely distributed L. clamitans and L. okaloosae sometimes interbreed.“Genetic swamping,” whereby the Florida bog frog’s genes are overwhelmed by breeding with the common bronze frog, is another significant threat to the survival of Florida bog frogs.
(Austin et al. 2011; Austin et al. 2003; Moler 1985; Hammerson et al. 2004; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 2013)
The Florida bog frog (Lithobates okaloosae)[1][2] is a rare species of frog found only in western Florida.
The Florida bog frog inhabits a total area of less than 20 km2 (7.7 mi2). It is found in shallow ponds or creeks along tributaries of the East Bay, Shoal and Yellow Rivers in Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties in Florida. About 90% of its range lies within Eglin Air Force Base, so the major threat to this species originates from human activity disturbing their natural habitat. However, "US national security has priority over wildlife", and the species showed some tolerance to intrusion.[1]
This species ranges from 34 to 49 mm (1.3 to 1.9 in) in snout to vent length (SVL), with females being a few millimeters larger than males on average. They have no spots on their dorsal surfaces and compared to other North American members of the genus Lithobates, the webbing between the toes is greatly reduced. They are light green. Males have a yellow throat and larger tympana. Tadpoles are brown with dark spots on the tail and light spots on the ventral surface.[3][4]
The Florida bog frog differs from other American frogs by reduced webbing of their feet – "at least three phalanges of the 4th toe are free of webbing and at least two phalanges of all other toes are free".[5]
Florida Bog Frogs occupy sluggish backwaters and seepages associated with clear, sand-bottomed streams. They prefer relatively open mucky areas that are thickly vegetated with low-lying herbaceous plant species, and are especially fond of areas dominated by sphagnum. The structure of their preferred microhabitats are maintained by the regular intrusion of fire and they will abandon habitats that become thickly overgrown with woody shrubs. Suppression of hot summer fires that enter wooded stream bottoms has led to the loss and degradation of much of the species' historic breeding habitat.
This species was unknown to science until the 1982, when it was discovered by State of Florida herpetologist Paul Moler while conducting surveys for the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii). Relatively little is known about their reproduction and development. Males call at night during the summer months, often in areas where bronze frogs (Lithobates clamitans clamitans) also breed.[6] Females lay several hundred eggs at a time on the surface of shallow, non-stagnant, acidic (pH 4.1–5.5) water during the spring and summer. Tadpoles metamorphose by the next spring.[1]
The Florida bog frog (Lithobates okaloosae) is a rare species of frog found only in western Florida.
Lithobates okaloosae[1][2][3] es una especie de anfibio anuro de la familia Ranidae.
Esta especie es endémica del oeste de Florida en los Estados Unidos. Habita entre los 3 y 55 m de altitud en los condados de Okaloosa, Santa Rosa y Walton.[4]
Lithobates okaloosae mide de 34 a 49 mm, la hembra es generalmente más grande que el macho. Su color es verde oscuro, su garganta es amarilla. Los renacuajos son marrones con manchas en la cola y el vientre.
Esta especie lleva el nombre de la ubicación de su descubrimiento, el condado de Okaloosa.
Lithobates okaloosae Lithobates generoko animalia da. Anfibioen barruko Ranidae familian sailkatuta dago, Anura ordenan.
Lithobates okaloosae Lithobates generoko animalia da. Anfibioen barruko Ranidae familian sailkatuta dago, Anura ordenan.
Lithobates okaloosae est une espèce d'amphibiens de la famille des Ranidae[1].
Cette espèce est endémique de l'Ouest de la Floride aux États-Unis. Elle se rencontre entre 3 et 55 m d'altitude dans les comtés d'Okaloosa, de Santa Rosa et de Walton[1],[2].
Lithobates okaloosae mesure de 34 à 49 mm, la femelle étant généralement plus grande que le mâle. Sa coloration est vert foncé, sa gorge est de couleur jaune. Les tétards sont bruns avec des taches sur la queue et le ventre.
Cette espèce est nommée en référence au lieu de sa découverte, le comté d'Okaloosa.
Lithobates okaloosae est une espèce d'amphibiens de la famille des Ranidae.
