Amphibians · Anura · Ranidae

Wood Frog

Lithobates sylvaticus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Lithobates sylvaticus, the wood frog, is an anuran amphibian of the family Ranidae. It averages 4 cm in size and can reach some 7 cm in length; the female is larger than the male. It is dark brown with greenish and black tints. It lives mainly in Alaska and Canada.

Weight

8 g on average

Size

3.5 cm – 8 cm

Lifespan

5 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestTundraPolarInsectivore Diurnal Solitary Amphibian Temperate forest Tundra Polar

2countries 45parks11same family

Fun facts

fisiologíaIt can survive being almost wholly frozen through the winter: as much as 65% of the water in its body turns to ice and its heart stops for a time.
It freezes solid: up to two thirds of the water in its body turns to ice, its heart stops completely and it stops breathing for weeks or months. In spring it thaws from the inside out and within a few hours it is hopping about again.
The trick is glucose: on detecting the first ice crystal on its skin, the liver floods the cells with glucose at concentrations that would be fatal in a human, and that antifreeze stops ice forming inside the cells and destroying them.
Its physiology is being studied to improve the preservation of organs for transplant, one of the great bottlenecks of medicine today.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)
Habitat & environment: Damp woodland, tundra and peat bogs of North America, as far north as northern Alaska
Sexual maturity: 2.5 years
Gestation / incubation: Larval development in temporary pools
Litter / clutch size: 900

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithobates_sylvaticus