Green Frog - Grenouille verte
Right before sunrise in the Richmond lagoons I had a few encounters with the slightly rare blue morph Green Frog. This is a variation caused by deficiencies in the yellow pigment cells, called xanthophores. The blue pigment cells that combine with the yellow, called iridophores, are present, causing blue light to reflect.
There is no scientific calculation of the frequency of these blue morphs, but I have seen one to two percent cited in a few places.
In this case, I was so preoccupied with the blue that I omitted the other field marks that help distinguish the Green Frog from the Bullfrog: the dorsal ridges that run only part way down the frog’s back. Most of the other colouring on Green Frogs is variable, including being partly brown, yellow or white undersides, etc. The males have tympana larger than their eyes, while the females are roughly the same size; males also have bright yellow throats in breeding season.
I was also preoccupied with not stepping on it. Green Frogs move significant distances out of the water, hunting for small land-based insects. In the early morning one has to be extremely careful, as frogs and snakes and even turtles, hunting in the low early light, will freeze in the camouflaged setting. The second cup of coffee in the dark before heading out helps in more ways than one.
This is a very common frog - blue morph excluded - in this part of the world, and its ‘gunk’ call, either singularly or a series, is a common early morning or late evening sound from wetland areas.
Green Frog - Grenouille verte
Right before sunrise in the Richmond lagoons I had a few encounters with the slightly rare blue morph Green Frog. This is a variation caused by deficiencies in the yellow pigment cells, called xanthophores. The blue pigment cells that combine with the yellow, called iridophores, are present, causing blue light to reflect.
There is no scientific calculation of the frequency of these blue morphs, but I have seen one to two percent cited in a few places.
In this case, I was so preoccupied with the blue that I omitted the other field marks that help distinguish the Green Frog from the Bullfrog: the dorsal ridges that run only part way down the frog’s back. Most of the other colouring on Green Frogs is variable, including being partly brown, yellow or white undersides, etc. The males have tympana larger than their eyes, while the females are roughly the same size; males also have bright yellow throats in breeding season.
I was also preoccupied with not stepping on it. Green Frogs move significant distances out of the water, hunting for small land-based insects. In the early morning one has to be extremely careful, as frogs and snakes and even turtles, hunting in the low early light, will freeze in the camouflaged setting. The second cup of coffee in the dark before heading out helps in more ways than one.
This is a very common frog - blue morph excluded - in this part of the world, and its ‘gunk’ call, either singularly or a series, is a common early morning or late evening sound from wetland areas.