Lithobates

{{Short description|Genus of amphibians}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|20.4|0|Early Miocene–present}} | image = Lithobates catesbeianus PP.jpg | image_caption = A close up of a male American bullfrog (''Lithobates catesbeianus'') | taxon = Lithobates | authority = Fitzinger, 1843 | type_species = ''Rana palmipes'' | type_species_authority = Spix, 1824 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 7 to 50, depending on the definition | synonyms = * {{extinct}}''Anchylorana'' Taylor, 1942 }}

'''''Lithobates''''' is a genus of frogs belonging to the family Ranidae, native to the Americas.<ref name="Frost" /> The name is derived from ''{{langx|grc|litho-}}'' (stone) and ''{{lang|grc|βάτης}} : {{grc-tr|βάτης}}'' (one that treads), meaning one that treads on rock, or rock climber.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dodd|first=C. Kenneth|title=Frogs of the United States and Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Hwfz9P9gS0C&pg=PR20|volume=1|date=2013|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-1-4214-0633-6|page=20}}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|ba%2Fths|βάτης|ref}} one that treads or covers</ref> As presently defined, it includes many of eastern North America's most familiar aquatic frog species, including the American bullfrog, green frog, and the leopard frogs.

== Systematics == The name was defined by Hillis and Wilcox (2005) for a subgenus of four Central and South American frogs within the genus ''Rana''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hillis |first1=David M. |last2=Wilcox |first2=Thomas P. |year=2005 |title=Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana) |url=http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/215.pdf |journal=Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. |volume=34 |issue= 2|pages=299–314 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.007 |pmid=15619443 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528131608/http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/215.pdf |archive-date=2008-05-28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hillis | first1 = David M | year = 2007 | title = Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life | journal = Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. | volume = 42 | issue = 2| pages = 331–338 | doi = 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.08.001 | pmid=16997582}}</ref> The subgenus was subsequently expanded to seven species in Central and South America in a systematic revision of the genus ''Rana''.<ref name="Yuan16">{{cite journal|last1=Yuan|first1=Zhi-Yong|last2=Zhou|first2=Wei-Wei|last3=Chen|first3=Xin|last4=Poyarkov|first4=Nikolay A.|last5=Chen|first5=Hong-Man|last6=Jang-Liaw|first6=Nian-Hong|last7=Chou|first7=Wen-Hao|last8=Matzke|first8=Nicholas J.|last9=Iizuka|first9=Koji|last10=Min|first10=Mi-Sook|last11=Kuzmin|first11=Sergius L.|last12=Zhang|first12=Ya-Ping|last13=Cannatella|first13=David C.|last14=Hillis|first14=David M.|last15=Che|first15=Jing |year=2016 |title=Spatiotemporal diversification of the true frogs (genus Rana): A historical framework for a widely studied group of model organisms |journal=Systematic Biology |pages=824–842 |doi=10.1093/sysbio/syw055 |pmid=27288482 |volume=65|issue=5|doi-access=free|hdl=2292/43460|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The name was previously used by Frost ''et al.'' as a separate genus of ranid frogs that included most of the North American frogs traditionally included in the genus ''Rana'',<ref name="frost06">Frost, Darrel R. (2006): Amphibian Species of the World Version 3 - [http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/references.php?id=15026 Petropedetidae Noble, 1931]. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Retrieved 2006-AUG-05., Frost, Darrel R. et al. (2006): The amphibian tree of life. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. Number 297. New York.</ref> including the American bullfrog and northern leopard frog. Frost used the name in this sense in the frog section of a North American common names list edited by Crother (2008).<ref>Crother, B.I. (ed.) (2008): Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North American north of Mexico - {{cite web |url=http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Lithobates_main.php |title=Standard and Common Names |access-date=2012-04-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416032441/http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Lithobates_main.php |archive-date=2013-04-16 }}. SSAR Herptological Circular 37:1-84.</ref> This proposed change has since been rejected by others, such as Stuart (2008),<ref>Stuart, Bryan L. (2008): The phylogenetic problem of ''Huia'' (Amphibia: Ranidae). ''Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.'' '''46'''(1): 49–60 {{doi|10.1016/j.ympev.2007.09.016}} (HTMl abstract)</ref> Pauly et al. (2009),<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Pauly | first1 = Greg B. | last2 = Hillis | first2 = David M. | last3 = Cannatella | first3 = David C. | year = 2009 | title = Taxonomic freedom and the role of official lists of species names | url = http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/1255.pdf | journal = Herpetologica | volume = 65 | issue = 2| pages = 115–128 | doi = 10.1655/08-031r1.1 | s2cid = 283839 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110725183043/http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/1255.pdf | archive-date = 2011-07-25 }}</ref> AmphibiaWeb,<ref>AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. 2012. Berkeley, California: [http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphib_query?query_src=aw_lists_genera_&table=amphib&where-genus=rana ''Rana'']</ref> and Yuan et al. (2016).<ref name="Yuan16" /> AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/, an online compendium of amphibian names, follows Yuan et al. (2016) in recognizing ''Lithobates'' as a subgenus.<ref name="Yuan16" /> On the other hand, ''Amphibian Species of the World'' 6.0, an online reference, uses ''Lithobates'' as a genus.<ref name="Frost" /> This definition is also followed by, e.g., the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)<ref name="IUCN" /> and the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.<ref name="SSAR12" />

The earliest known members of this genus are known from the Early Miocene of Florida, and appear to belong to the leopard frog species complex.<ref name=":0" />

==Species==

=== Recent species === These species are recognised in the genus ''Lithobates'':<ref name=Frost/> {{Columns-list|colwidth=25em| * ''Lithobates areolatus'' (Baird and Girard, 1852) – crawfish frog * ''Lithobates berlandieri'' (Baird, 1859) – Rio Grande leopard frog * ''Lithobates blairi'' (Mecham, Littlejohn, Oldham, Brown, and Brown, 1973) – Plains leopard frog * ''Lithobates brownorum'' (Sanders, 1973) * ''Lithobates bwana'' (Hillis and de Sá, 1988) – Rio Chipillico frog * ''Lithobates capito'' (LeConte, 1855) – gopher frog * ''Lithobates catesbeianus'' (Shaw, 1802) – American bullfrog * ''Lithobates chichicuahutla'' (Cuellar, Méndez-De La Cruz, and Villagrán-Santa Cruz, 1996) – Lago de las Minas frog * ''Lithobates chiricahuensis'' (Platz and Mecham, 1979) – Chiricahua leopard frog * ''Lithobates clamitans'' (Latreille, 1801) – green frog * ''Lithobates dunni'' (Zweifel, 1957) – Patzcuaro frog *{{extinct}}''Lithobates fisheri'' (Stejneger, 1893) – Vegas Valley leopard frog or Mogollon Rim leopard frog * ''Lithobates forreri'' (Boulenger, 1883) – Forrer's leopard frog * ''Lithobates grylio'' (Stejneger, 1901) – pig frog * ''Lithobates heckscheri'' (Wright, 1924) – river frog * ''Lithobates johni'' (Blair, 1965) – Moore's frog * ''Lithobates juliani'' (Hillis and de Sá, 1988) – Maya Mountains frog * ''Lithobates kauffeldi'' (Feinberg, Newman, Watkins-Colwell, Schlesinger, Zarate, Curry, Shaffer, and Burger, 2014) – Atlantic Coast leopard frog * ''Lithobates lenca'' (Luque-Montes ''et al''., 2018) * ''Lithobates lemosespinali'' (Smith and Chiszar, 2003) – Lemos-Espinal's leopard frog * ''Lithobates macroglossa'' (Brocchi, 1877) – Guatemala plateau frog * ''Lithobates maculatus'' (Brocchi, 1877) – highland frog * ''Lithobates magnaocularis'' (Frost and Bagnara, 1974) – Northwest Mexico leopard frog * ''Lithobates megapoda'' (Taylor, 1942) – big-footed leopard frog * ''Lithobates miadis'' (Barbour and Loveridge, 1929) – island leopard frog * ''Lithobates montezumae'' (Baird, 1854) – Montezuma leopard frog * ''Lithobates neovolcanicus'' (Hillis and Frost, 1985) – transverse volcanic leopard frog * ''Lithobates okaloosae'' (Moler, 1985) – Florida bog frog * ''Lithobates omiltemanus'' (Günther, 1900) – Guerreran leopard frog * ''Lithobates onca'' (Cope, 1875) – relict leopard frog * ''Lithobates palmipes'' (Spix, 1824) – Amazon River frog * ''Lithobates palustris'' (LeConte, 1825) – pickerel frog * ''Lithobates pipiens'' (Schreber, 1782) – northern leopard frog * ''Lithobates psilonota'' (Webb, 2001) – smooth-backed frog * ''Lithobates pueblae'' (Zweifel, 1955) – Puebla frog * ''Lithobates pustulosus'' (Boulenger, 1883) – Mexican cascades frog * ''Lithobates septentrionalis'' (Baird, 1854) – mink frog * ''Lithobates sevosus'' (Goin and Netting, 1940) – Mississippi gopher frog * ''Lithobates sierramadrensis'' (Taylor, 1939) – Sierra Madre frog * ''Lithobates spectabilis'' (Hillis and Frost, 1985) – showy leopard frog * ''Lithobates sphenocephalus'' (Cope, 1886) – southern leopard frog * ''Lithobates sylvaticus'' (LeConte, 1825) – wood frog * ''Lithobates tarahumarae'' (Boulenger, 1917) – Tarahumara frog * ''Lithobates taylori'' (Smith, 1959) – Peralta frog * ''Lithobates tlaloci'' (Hillis and Frost, 1985) – Tlaloc's leopard frog * ''Lithobates vaillanti'' (Brocchi, 1877) – Vaillant's frog * ''Lithobates vibicarius'' (Cope, 1894) – green-eyed frog * ''Lithobates virgatipes'' (Cope, 1891) – carpenter frog * ''Lithobates warszewitschii'' (Schmidt, 1857) – Warszewitsch's frog * ''Lithobates yavapaiensis'' (Platz and Frost, 1984) – lowland leopard frog * ''Lithobates zweifeli'' (Hillis, Frost, and Webb, 1984) – Zweifel's frog }}

Alternatively, if ''Lithobates'' is treated as a subgenus (neotropical true frogs), then this narrower definition would contain the following species: {{Columns-list|colwidth=25em| * ''Rana (Lithobates) bwana'' Hillis and de Sá, 1988 – Rio Chipillico frog * ''Rana (Lithobates) juliani'' Hillis and de Sá, 1988 – Maya Mountains frog * ''Rana (Lithobates) maculata'' Brocchi, 1877 – highland frog * ''Rana (Lithobates) palmipes'' Spix, 1824 – Amazon River frog * ''Rana (Lithobates) vaillanti'' Brocchi, 1877 – Vaillant's frog * ''Rana (Lithobates) vibicaria'' (Cope, 1894) – green-eyed frog * ''Rana (Lithobates) warszewitschii'' Schmidt, 1857 – Warszewitsch's frog }}

=== Fossil species === The following fossil species are known, all assignable to the ''L. pipiens'' (leopard frog) complex:<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Sanchiz |first=B. |date=2012-01-01 |title=Nomenclatural notes on living and fossil amphibians |url=https://www.academia.edu/30177911/Nomenclatural_notes_on_living_and_fossil_amphibians |journal=Graellsia}}</ref>

* †''Lithobates bucella'' (Holman, 1965) (Early Miocene of Florida) * †''Lithobates dubitus'' (Taylor, 1942) (Pliocene/early Pleistocene of Kansas) * †''Lithobates fayeae'' (Taylor, 1942) (Pliocene/early Pleistocene of Kansas) * †''Lithobates moorei'' (Taylor, 1942) (Pliocene/early Pleistocene of Kansas) * †''Lithobates miocenicus'' (Holman, 1965) (Early Miocene of Florida) * †''Lithobates robustocondylus'' (Taylor, 1942) (Pliocene/early Pleistocene of Kansas) * †''Lithobates rexroadensis'' (Taylor, 1942) (Pliocene/early Pleistocene of Kansas) * †''Lithobates parvissimus'' (Taylor, 1942) (Pliocene/early Pleistocene of Kansas) The species described in 1942 were previously placed in their own genus, ''Anchylorana''.<ref name=":0" />

=== Phylogeny === Cladogram after Martínez‐Gil et al. 2025:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Martínez‐Gil |first=Helena |last2=Kaliontzopoulou |first2=Antigoni |last3=Enriquez‐Urzelai |first3=Urtzi |date=2025-08-16 |title=Different Macroevolutionary Trajectories Lead to Contrasting Ecogeographical Patterns in Two Widespread Frog Radiations |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.70109 |journal=Global Ecology and Biogeography |language=en |volume=34 |issue=8 |doi=10.1111/geb.70109 |issn=1466-822X}}</ref>{{clade|{{clade |1=''L. sylvaticus'' (wood frog) |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''L. septentrionalis'' (mink frog) |2={{clade |1=''L. grylio'' (pig frog) |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''L. clamitans'' (green frog) |2=''L. okaloosae'' (Florida bog frog) }} |2={{clade |1=''L. hecksheri'' (river frog) |2=''L. catesbeianus'' (American bullfrog) }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=''L. maculatus'' (highland frog) |2={{clade |1=''L. warszewitschii'' (Warszewitsch's frog) |2=''L. vibicaria'' (green-eyed/Rancho Redondo frog) }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''L. vaillanti'' (Vaillant's frog) |2=''L. juliani'' (Maya Mountains frog) }} |2={{clade |1=''L. bwana'' (Rio Chipillico frog) |2=''L. palmipes'' (Amazon River frog) }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''L. sierramadrensis'' (Sierra Madre frog) |2=''L. tarahumarae'' (Tarahumara frog) }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''L. pipiens'' (northern leopard frog) |2={{clade |1=''L. chiricahuensis'' (Chiricahua leopard frog) |2={{clade |1=''L. montezumae'' (Montezuma leopard frog) |2=''L. dunni'' (Patzcuaro frog) }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''L. palustris'' (pickerel frog) |2={{clade |1=''L. areolatus'' (crawfish frog) |2={{clade |1=''L. sevosus'' (Mississippi gopher frog) |2=''L. capito'' (gopher frog) }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''L. sphenocephalus'' (southern leopard frog) |2={{clade |1=''L. blairi'' (plains leopard frog) |2=''L. berlandieri'' (Rio Grande leopard frog) }} }} |2={{clade |1=''L. macroglossa'' (Guatemala plateau frog) |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''L. forreri'' (Forrer's grass frog) |2=''L. omiltemanus'' (Guerreran leopard frog) }} |2={{clade |1=''L. magnaocularis'' (Northwest Mexico leopard frog) |2={{clade |1=''L. onca'' (relict leopard frog) |2=''L. yavapaiensis'' (lowland leopard frog) }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}|style=|label1='''''Lithobates'''''}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name="SSAR12">{{cite book | editor = Crother, Brian I. | title = Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Seventh edition. SSAR Herpetological circular No. 39 |date=August 2012 | publisher = Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) | url = https://ssarherps.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/HC_39_7thEd.pdf | location = Shoreview, MN | isbn = 978-0-916984-85-4 |pages=1–92}}</ref>

<ref name=Frost>{{cite web |url=http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia123/index.php//Amphibia/Anura/Ranidae/Lithobates |title=''Lithobates'' Fitzinger, 1843 |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2016 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |access-date=7 August 2016}}</ref>

<ref name=IUCN>{{cite web |url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/search |title=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016-1 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature |access-date=7 August 2016}}</ref> }}

Category:Lithobates Category:True frogs Category:Amphibian genera Category:Amphibians of North America Category:Amphibians of Central America Category:Amphibians of South America Category:Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger Category:Extant Burdigalian first appearances