Named for the spots across their green backs, northern leopard frogs will eat just about anything that crosses their paths.
Photograph by Bates Littlehales
Map
Northern Leopard Frog Range
Audio
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Amphibian
- Diet:
- Carnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- 2 to 4 years
- Size:
- 3 to 5 in (7.6 to 12.7 cm)
- Group name:
- Army
- Protection status:
- Threatened
- Did you know?
- A genetic mutation gives rise to the Burnsi leopard frogs, which have no spots.
- Size relative to a tea cup:
-
The northern leopard frog is perhaps most recognizable as the formaldehyde-soaked specimen in the high school lab tray.
Once the most abundant and widespread frog species in North America, leopard frogs were widely collected not only for dissection but for the food industry (frog legs) as well.
However, massive declines beginning in the early 1970s, particularly in Canada and the western United States, have significantly reduced their numbers. Scientists have not determined the cause of the declines, but it is likely a combination of ecological factors: pollution, deforestation, and water acidity.
Northern leopard frogs are so named for the array of irregularly shaped dark spots that adorn their backs and legs. They are greenish-brown in color with a pearly white underside and light-colored ridges on either side of their backs. They are considered medium-size, reaching lengths of 3 to 5 inches (7.6 to 12.7 centimeters), nose to rump. Females are slightly larger than males.
Their range is most of northern North America, except on the Pacific Coast. They generally live near ponds and marshes, but will often venture into well-covered grasslands as well, earning them their other common name, the meadow frog.
Leopard frogs will eat just about anything they can fit in their mouths. They sit still and wait for prey to happen by, then pounce with their powerful legs. They eat beetles, ants, flies, worms, smaller frogs, including their own species, and even birds, and garter snakes.
Amphibian Features
-
Poison Dart Frog Pictures
Want to see more of these incredibly colorful critters? Hop on in.
-
Warty Newt
Meet the endangered newt that’s Europe’s largest. Learn why these amphibians are special—warts and all.
-
Spotted Salamander
Go underground and meet this salamander that's both large and common, yet so secretive it’s rarely seen.
Animals
-
Aardvark
-
Adélie Penguin
-
African Elephant
-
African Lion
-
African Wild Dog
-
Albatross
-
Alligator Snapping Turtle
-
Amazon Horned Frog
-
American Alligator
-
American Bison
-
American Bullfrog
-
American Crocodile
-
Ammonite
-
Andean Condor
-
Anglerfish
-
Ankylosaurus Magniventris
-
Ant
-
Arabian (Dromedary) Camel
-
Arctic Fox
-
Arctic Hare
-
Arctic Skua
-
Armadillo
-
Asian Elephant
-
Asian Lion
-
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
-
Atlantic Puffin
-
Aye-Aye
-
Baboon
-
Bactrian Camel
-
Bald Eagle
-
Baltimore Oriole
-
Beaver
-
Beluga Whale
-
Bengal Tiger
-
Bird of Paradise
-
Black Bear
-
Black-Footed Ferret
-
Black Mamba
-
Black Rhinoceros
-
Blacktip Shark
-
Black Widow Spider
-
Bluebird
-
Blue Crab
-
Blue-Footed Booby
-
Blue Jay
-
Blue Marlin
-
Blue Whale
-
Boa Constrictor
-
Bobcat
-
Bottlenose Dolphin
-
Box Jellyfish
-
Brachychampsa Montana
-
Brown Bear
-
Bull Shark
-
Burmese Python
-
Butterflyfish
-
California Condor
-
California Sea Lion
-
Canada Goose
-
Cane Toad
-
Canvasback
-
Caribou
-
Carolina Wren
-
Cheetah
-
Chimpanzee
-
Chipmunk
-
Cicada
-
Clouded Leopard
-
Clown Anemonefish
-
Coelacanth
-
Common Earthworm
-
Common Loon
-
Common Octopus
-
Common Sandpiper
-
Common Vampire Bat
-
Common Wombat
-
Coral
-
Cottontail Rabbit
-
Coyote
-
Cretoxyrhina Mantelli
-
Cuban Screech Owl
-
Cubera Snapper
-
Deer Tick
-
Devil Frog
-
Dingo
-
Dog Snapper
-
Dolichorhynchops Osborni
-
Domestic Cat
-
Domestic Dog
-
Draco Lizard
-
Dugong
-
Eastern Coral Snake
-
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
-
Eastern Gray Kangaroo
-
Egyptian Giant Solpugid (Camel Spider)
-
Electric Eel
-
Elephant Seal
-
Elk
-
Emperor Penguin
-
Fennec Fox
-
Firefly (Lightning Bug)
-
Flying Fish
-
Flying Snake
-
Fossa
-
Frilled Lizard
-
Fur Seal
-
Galápagos Tortoise
-
Gelada
-
Gentoo Penguin
-
Geographic Cone Snail
-
Giant Anteater
-
Giant Clam
-
Giant Pacific Octopus
-
Giant Panda
-
Giant River Otter
-
Giant Squid
-
Gibbon
-
Gila Monster
-
Giraffe
-
Golden Cowrie
-
Golden Eagle
-
Golden Jellyfish
-
Golden Lion Tamarin
-
Golden Poison Dart Frog
-
Gray Whale
-
Great Blue Heron
-
Great Egret
-
Greater Flamingo
-
Greater Rhea
-
Great Horned Owl
-
Great White Shark
-
Green Anaconda
-
Green Basilisk Lizard
-
Green-Eyed Tree Frog
-
Green Iguana
-
Green Sea Turtle
-
Grizzly Bear
-
Groundhog
-
Hammerhead Shark
-
Harbor Porpoise
-
Harp Seal
-
Hawaiian Monk Seal
-
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
-
Hedgehog
-
Henodus Chelyops
-
Hesperornis Regalis
-
Hippopotamus
-
Honeybee
-
Horned Toad (Short-Horned Lizard)
-
Hornet
-
Horse
-
Howler Monkey
-
Humpback Whale
-
Impala
-
Indian Rhinoceros
-
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
-
Jackrabbit
-
Jaguar
-
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
-
Killer Whale (Orca)
-
King Cobra
-
King Vulture
-
Kinkajou
-
Koala
-
Komodo Dragon
-
Krill
-
Ladybug
-
Laughing Kookaburra
-
Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon
-
Leatherback Sea Turtle
-
Leopard
-
Leopard Seal
-
Leptoceratops Gracilis
-
Lesothosaurus Diagnosticus
-
Lionfish
-
Little Red Flying-Fox
-
Llama
-
Lobster
-
Locust
-
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
-
Lynx
-
Macaw
-
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
-
Mallard Duck
-
Manatee
-
Mandrill
-
Marine Iguana
-
Matschie's Tree Kangaroo
-
Meerkat
-
Meller's Chameleon
-
Mexican Axolotl
-
Mola (Sunfish)
-
Mole Rat
-
Monarch Butterfly
-
Mongoose
-
Mononykus Olecranus
-
Moose
-
Mosquito
-
Mountain Goat
-
Mountain Gorilla
-
Mountain Lion
-
Mouse Lemur
-
Mudpuppy
-
Musk-Ox
-
Narwhal
-
Nile Crocodile
-
North American River Otter
-
Northern Leopard Frog
-
Nudibranch
-
Nurse Shark
-
Nutria
-
Ocelot
-
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
-
Opossum
-
Orangutan
-
Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad
-
Osprey
-
Ostrich
-
Oyster
-
Ozark Big-Eared Bat
-
Pachycephalosaurus Wyomingensis
-
Parrot
-
Parrot Fish
-
Peacock
-
Pelican
-
Peregrine Falcon
-
Pileated Woodpecker
-
Platecarpus
-
Platypus
-
Poison Dart Frog
-
Polar Bear
-
Porcupine
-
Portuguese Man-of-War
-
Prairie Dog
-
Praying Mantis
-
Proboscis Monkey
-
Pronghorn
-
Protosphyraena
-
Protostega Gigas
-
Przewalski's Horse
-
Pufferfish
-
Queen Angelfish
-
Quetzal
-
Raccoon
-
Rainbow Trout
-
Raven
-
Red Crab
-
Red-Eyed Tree Frog
-
Red-Footed Booby
-
Red Fox
-
Red Kangaroo
-
Red Leaf Monkey
-
Red Panda
-
Red-Tailed Hawk
-
Red Uakari
-
Rhesus Monkey
-
Right Whale
-
Ringed Seal
-
Ring-Necked Pheasant
-
Ring-Tailed Lemur
-
Rockhopper Penguin
-
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
-
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
-
Sailfish
-
Saltwater Crocodile
-
Sandhill Crane
-
Sand Tiger Shark
-
Scarab
-
Scorpion
-
Sea Anemone
-
Sea Cucumber
-
Seahorse
-
Sea Otter
-
Siberian Tiger
-
Sifaka
-
Skunk
-
Sloth Bear
-
Snow Goose
-
Snow Leopard
-
Snowshoe Hare
-
Snowy Owl
-
Sockeye Salmon
-
Spectacled Bear
-
Sperm Whale
-
Spider Monkey
-
Spotted Hyena
-
Spotted Salamander
-
Spring Peeper
-
Squirrel
-
Starfish (Sea Star)
-
Steller Sea Lion
-
Steller's Sea Eagle
-
Stick Insect
-
Stingray
-
Styxosaurus Snowii
-
Sumatran Rhinoceros
-
Sun Bear
-
Tapir
-
Tarantula
-
Tasmanian Devil
-
Thescelosaurus Neglectus
-
Thick-Billed Murre
-
Thomson's Gazelle
-
Three-Toed Sloth
-
Tiger Salamander
-
Tiger Shark
-
Toucan
-
Triceratops Horridus
-
Triggerfish
-
Troodon Formosus
-
Tundra Swan
-
Tusotheuthis Longa
-
Two-Toed Sloth
-
Tylosaurus Proriger
-
Tyrannosaurus Rex
-
Velociraptor Mongoliensis
-
Wallaby
-
Wallace's Flying Frog
-
Walrus
-
Warthog
-
Warty Newt
-
Wasp
-
Water Buffalo
-
Web-Footed Gecko
-
Weddell Seal
-
Western Lowland Gorilla
-
Whale Shark
-
White-Eared Kob
-
White Rhinoceros
-
White-Tailed Deer
-
Whooping Crane
-
Wildebeest
-
Wild Turkey
-
Wolf
-
Wolverine
-
Wood Stork
-
Xiphactinus Audax
-
Zebra
Advertisement
Animal News
Special Ad Section
From the Magazine
-
Gannets Pictures
Champion divers but clumsy landers, doting parents but hostile neighbors—northern gannets abound in contradictions.
-
Estonia's Ural Owls
Photographer Sven Začek provides an intimate view of this large raptor.