Lithobates sphenocephalus (Cope, 1886)
Rana utricularius Harlan, 1826, Am. J. Sci. Arts, 10: 60. Type(s): Not designated; ANSP 2803 designated neotype by Pace, 1974, Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 148: 18). Type locality: "Pennsylvania and New Jersey", USA. Neotype from "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania", USA. Considered a nomen dubium, likely synonymous with Rana pipiens, by Brown, Smith, and Funk, 1977, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 33: 195-203. This disputed by Zug, 1982, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 39: 80, and made arguable by Pace's neotype designation. Rana sphenocephala Cope, 1886, given precedence over this name by Opinion 1685, Anonymous, 1992, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 49: 171-173, whenever they are in competition for priority.
Rana oxyrhynchus Hallowell, 1856, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 8: 141-143. Holotype: Presumably originally in the ANSP; neotype designated as UMMZ 56130 by Pace, 1974, Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 148: 18. Type locality: "in a sulphur spring, near the St. John's River, about three hundred miles from Key West", Florida, USA; neotype from "Enterprise, Volusia County, Florida", USA. Preoccupied by Rana oxyrhynchus Smith, 1849 (= Ptychadena oxyrhynchus). Synonymy with Rana halecina by Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 517, and Boulenger, 1919, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 9, 3: 413; with Rana utricularius by Pace, 1974, Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 148 (= Rana sphenocephala as used here).
Rana halecina sphenocephala Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 517. Replacement name for Rana oxyrhynchus Hallowell, 1856. Given precedence over Rana utricularius Harlan, 1825, by Opinion 1685, Anonymous, 1992, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 49: 171-173, whenever they are in competition for priority.
Rana virescens virescens Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 399. Type(s): Not designated but frog figured by Cope is clearly a type and most similar to Rana sphenocephala (fide Brown, Smith, and Funk, 1977, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 33: 200). Type locality: Not designated. Inadvertant validation of a previously unavailable name, but unfortunately a nomen dubium that might be applied to several species, including Rana blairi, Rana pipiens, and Rana sphenocephala. See Brown, Smith, and Funk, 1977, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 33: 200, for discussion.
Rana virescens sphenocephala — Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 99.
Rana sphenocephala — Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 39.
Rana pipiens sphenocephala — Stejneger and Barbour, 1943, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 93: 58.
Rana utricularia utricularia — Pace, 1974, Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 148: 23.
Rana utricularia sphenocephala — Pace, 1974, Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 148: 22.
Rana (Rana) sphenocephala — Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 42. by implication.
Rana (Pantherana) sphenocephala — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 332.
Rana sphenocephala utricularius — Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 13.
Rana sphenocephala sphenocephala — Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 13.
Rana (Novirana, Sierrana, Pantherana, Scurrilirana) sphenocephalus sphenocephalus — Hillis and Wilcox, 2005, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 34: 305. See Dubois, 2006, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 317-330, Hillis, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 331-338, and Dubois, 2007, Cladistics, 23: 390-402, for relevant discussion of nomenclature. Invalid name formulation under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999) as discussed by Dubois, 2007, Cladistics, 23: 395.
Rana (Novirana, Sierrana, Pantherana, Scurrilirana) sphenocephalus utricularia — Hillis and Wilcox, 2005, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 34: 305. See Dubois, 2006, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 317-330, Hillis, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 331-338, and Dubois, 2007, Cladistics, 23: 390-402, for relevant discussion of nomenclature. Invalid name formulation under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999) as discussed by Dubois, 2007, Cladistics, 23: 395.
Lithobates sphenocephalus — Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 369. Che, Pang, Zhao, Wu, Zhao, and Zhang, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 43: 1-13; by implication.
Lithobates (Lithobates) sphenocephalus sphenocephalus — Dubois, 2006, C. R. Biol., Paris, 329: 830. Dubois, 2006, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 325.
Lithobates (Lithobates) sphenocephalus utricularius — Dubois, 2006, C. R. Biol., Paris, 329: 830. Dubois, 2006, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 325.
Rana (Scurrilirana) sphenocephala utricularia — Hillis, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 335-336. by implication.
Rana (Scurrilirana) sphenocephala sphenocephala — Hillis, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42: 335-336. by implication.
Lithobates sphenocephalus sphenocephalus — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 8).
Lithobates sphenocephalus utricularius — Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 8).
English Names
Southern Leopard Frog (Dickerson, 1906, The Frog Book: 186; Brimley, 1915, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 30: 7; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 82; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 177; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 345; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 13; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 109; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 13; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 15; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 8; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 18).
Southern Meadow Frog (Wright, 1932, Life Hist. Frogs Okefinokee Swamp, 2: 14; Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: xi).
Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala: Carr, 1940, Univ. Florida Biol. Sci. Ser., 3: 67).
Florida Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala: Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 8).
Florida Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala sphenocephala: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 109; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 13; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 15; Lithobates sphenocephalus sphenocephalus: Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 8; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 9; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 18).
Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala utricularia: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 109; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 13; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 15; Lithobates sphenocephalus utricularius: Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 8; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 9; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 18).
Distribution
Southeastern New York south along the Atlantic coastal plain to southern Florida, west to eastern Texas, and north to eastern Kansas, southern Illinois, and southern Ohio (excluding most of the Appalachian Mountains); introduced on Grand Bahama I., Bahamas.
Comment
Rana (Rana) pipiens subgroup of the Rana pipiens group as defined by Hillis, Frost, and Wright, 1983, Syst. Zool., 32: 132-143. In the equivalent Rana (Pantherana) pipiens group of Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 332. See Opinion, 1685, Anonymous, 1992, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 49: 171-173, and Brown, Smith, and Funk, 1977, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 33: 195-203, for literature on the confusing nomenclatural issues. Whether subspecies can be recognized is controversial ( Brown, Smith, and Funk, 1977, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 33: 199-200), although the issue is far from resolved ( Zug, 1982, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 39: 80-81; Uzzell, 1982, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 39: 83). Jacobs, 1973, HISS News J., 1: 98, provided the first record for Grand Bahama Island.
External Links
Please note: these links will take you to external websites not affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History. We are not responsible for their content.
- For additional sources of information from other sites search Google
- For images search Arkive, CalPhoto Images and Google Images
- To search the NIH genetic sequence database, see GenBank
- For information aggregation from other sites and some original accounts see AmphibiaWeb report
- For further information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
- For related information on conservation and images as well as observation see iNaturalist;
- for a quick link to their maps see iNaturalist KML
- For access to informatoin on fossils see Lisanfos
