## Pig Frog - Rana grylio

- Diagnostic Features:
  - Size: 3 to 6.25 inches (80 to 162 mm)
  - Color:
    - Varies from olive to dark brown
  - Other:
    - Large frog
    - Narrow and pointed head
    - Prominent tympanum
    - Prominent dark dorsal spots
    - Ventral surfaces white or pale yellow with gray mottling on thighs
    - No dorsolateral folds
    - Hind feet are fully webbed. Compare to Bullfrog, and Carpenter Frog, young Pig Frogs in particular resemble these other species.
- Natural History:
  - Habitat:
    - This frog is seen in large bodies of water, such as lakes and marshes amid floating vegetation.
  - Behavior:
    - It is nocturnal. This frog is difficult to approach. It is territorial and feeds primarily on crawfish, but eats minnows, snakes, and smaller frogs
  - Breeding:
    - Breeding takes place from April to August.
    - Each female deposits about 10,000 eggs in a thin layer on the surface of the water
- Voice: Sonogram : Call ( Ben Hill, Seminole, & Terrell Counties )
  - Short, low-pitched piglike grunts
  - Single, internal vocal sac that looks like it has three parts when inflated
- Tadpoles:
  - Tadpole stage: about 1 year
  - Transformed size: 32 - 49 mm
  - LTRF usually 2/3; to 25 TL; prominent (formed of many, closely-arranged, bright-colored cells) to faint (formed of fewer, widely-spaced cells) transverse golden, brassy, or russet band at mid-body (may or may not be visible in preserved specimen but sparse distributions of melanophores in this area often allow detection of where band was); fins usually not pigmented but may be slightly opaque; throughout continent but several species limited to Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains
  - LTRF usually 2/3; ca. 25-110 TL; body brown to russet with small, subtle, darker markings; middle of dorsal fin with longitudinal dark line or row of dots; Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains from southeastern Texas to New Jersey
  - P-2/P-3 ca. 1.7; ground color brown with subtle mottling, longitudinal series of dark dots in dorsal fin; summer breeder, usually in permanent lentic sites in Coastal Plain from southwestern Louisiana and adjacent Texas to central South Carolina

  - high contrast (easily visible without magnification) brassy band at mid-body on black ground color; with tadpole growth, band fades as ground color turns to russet; fins slightly opaque; tail muscle unicolored; summer breeder, usually in permanent lentic sites in Coastal Plain from southwestern Louisiana and adjacent Texas to central South Carolina
- Range:
  - In North America, this frog is found in the Deep South of the United States from South Carolina to East Texas.
  - In Georgia, it is found primarily in the southern part of the state.

  - In Light Blue: Williamson, Gerald K. & Moulis, Robert A., Distribution of Amphibians and Reptiles in Georgia, Special Publication No. 3, Savannah Science Museum, Inc. Savannah, Georgia, 1994. Museum specimens
  - In Pale Blue: Williamson, Gerald K. & Moulis, Robert A., Distribution of Amphibians and Reptiles in Georgia, Special Publication No. 3, Savannah Science Museum, Inc. Savannah, Georgia, 1994. Literature only, no museum specimens.
  - In Green: Sound Recordings
  - In Yellow: From Both '94 study and Sound Recordings
  - In Magenta: Photograph, not found by '94, may or may not be sound record
  - In Medium Blue: Photograph and in '94 study, may or may not be sound record
  - In Orange: County Record by other Herp Atlas Volunteers
  - In Red: US Distribution from various sources

July 5, 2003 - wwknapp@mindspring.com