Oviposition, Larval Development, and Metamorphosis in 
the Wood Frog, Rana sylvatica (Anura: Ranidae), in Georgia 
Carlos D. Camp, Charles E. Condee, 
and D. Glenn Lovell 
Department of Biology, Piedmont College 
Demorest, Georgia 30535 
ABSTRACT . — Oviposition and development in the wood frog, Rana 
sylvatica , were investigated from February through July of 1987 in the 
upper Piedmont of Georgia. Egg masses were laid in February and 
March in groups ranging from 1 to 22 masses. The number of eggs 
averaged 553 per mass. Mean egg diameter was 2.8 mm. Larvae, which 
averaged 8.7 mm in total length, hatched 18 to 25 days after oviposition. 
Larvae had reached a mean total length of 51.6 mm when they 
metamorphosed 1 15 to 130 days after hatching. Newly metamorphosed 
froglets had a mean snout-vent length of 18 mm. 
The wood frog, Rana sylvatica LeConte, ranges from the tundra in 
Alaska and Canada to upland areas of Georgia (Martof 1970) and 
Alabama (Mount 1975). Various aspects of the life history of this frog 
have been investigated in a number of localities (Martof and Humphries 
1959, Herreid and Kinney 1966, 1967, Meeks and Nagel 1977, Howard 
1980, Berven 1982a, b, Seale 1982, Seigel 1983). Davis and Folkerts 
(1986) recently studied the life history of the wood frog in Alabama but 
did not report specific data on larval development time or size at 
metamorphosis. The only previous study describing larval development 
in the southern portion of the wood frog’s range was by Meeks and 
Nagel (1977) in northeastern Tennessee. We present here an account of 
development in the wood frog in northeastern Georgia. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
This study was conducted in the Piedmont of Habersham Co., Ga., 
from February through July, 1987. Study areas were small, rain-filled, 
temporary pools located at Nancytown Lake (NTL; 3.2 km S of Mt. 
Airy, elevation = 280 m) and Roger’s Creek (RC1 and RC2; 6.4 km S of 
Batesville, 450 m). Eggs were measured, and egg masses were counted 
from an additional site on the Soque River (SR; 8.0 km W of Demorest, 
350 m). NTL, RC2, and SR were woodland pools, whereas RC1 was 
located in a pasture approximately 200 m from RC2. NTL and RC1 
had abundant macrophytic vegetation; RC2 was heavily shaded and had 
little vegetation; SR was a deep wheel rut in an old logging road and 
contained no vegetation. 
Brimleyana 16:17-21, July 1990 
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