THE AMPHIBIA OF OKLAHOMA 



22. Rana palustris Le Conte (Pickerel Frog) 



Distribution: recorded in Oklahoma only from McCurtain County. Habi- 

 tat: has been seen in Oklahoma only in valleys of streams (as along Little 

 River near Idabel and its tributary, Mountain Fork River). Breeding: un- 

 known in Oklahoma. Descriptions: eggs, adults, and larvae, Wright and 

 Wright (1942). 



23. Rana berlandieri Baird-'- (Southwestern Leopard Frog) 



Distribution: state-wide. Habitat: about water courses, lakes, pools, and 

 ditches, ranging widely from these in moist weather to feed. Very abundant. 

 Breeding: February to September (perhaps later) most abundantly after rains 

 typically in shallow water. Eggs: attached in an ovoid mass of jelly to vege- 

 tation just below water surface. Tadpoles: active, variable in color in different 

 waters, but typically grayish to greenish. These larvae are active and like to 

 feed in the shallows but many seek deeper water to avoid excessive heat. De- 

 scriptions: eggs, Wright and Wright (1942); larvae, Wright (1942); adults, 

 Wright and Wright (1942). 



24. Scaphiopus bombifrons (Cope) (Plains Spadefoot) 



Distribution: western two-thirds of Oklahoma, rare east of Payne and 

 Cleveland counties, very abundant to westward. Habitat: grassland only. 

 Breeding: any time from March to September, but only after rains of 0.5 in. 

 or more, and if temperature is not below 9° C. Violent rains induce breeding 

 activity quickly. Eggs: attached below surface, typically in deeper temporary 

 pools. Tadpoles: large, typically gray to brown but in some muddy tanks in 

 western Oklahoma may be nearly white. Superficially like S. hammondii 

 but difference in mouth parts distinguishes them easily, especially in the 

 larger individuals, which are recognizable even in the field (for specific dif- 

 ference see No. 44 in the tadpole key). Descriptions: eggs, Wright and Wright 

 (1942); tadpoles, Wright (1929) (under the name of S. hammondii , see 

 Bragg, 1941); adults. Smith (1934). 



25. Scaphiopus couchii Baird (Southern Spadefoot) 



Distribution: southwestern Oklahoma, north to Custer County, east to 

 western Carter County. Habitat: short-grass prairie and mesquite savannah. 

 Abundant. Breeding: after rains only, in shallow temporary pools from at 

 least late April to August. Eggs: black and white in irregular masses attached 

 to vegetation. Tadpoles: small, dark colored and often very iridescent in 

 golden and bronze, very distinctive as they approach metamorphosis. Descrip- 

 tions: eggs, Strecker (1908), adults, Wright and Wright (1942); tadpoles, 

 Wright (1929). 



-- At least two kinds of leopard frogs occur in Oklahoma (Bragg, 1949), R. berlandi- 

 eri and R. hrachycephala Cope. The latter occurs only in the west, its range overlapping 

 that of A', berlandieri in the Panhandle and in approximately the western tier of counties. 

 Two specimens are known from western Major County, and a few from the Wichita 

 Mountain area of Comanche County also. 'I'hc common name for R. berlandieri is here 

 proposed for the first time. 



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