Tag: amphibians

I went down a salamander hole and discovered mental glands. Who knew?

Hmm, I thought we had the Pacific Tree Frog aka Pacific Chorus Frog here, but now I’m learning that the species was divided into three in 2006, and in Southern California ours is called the Baja California Tree or Chorus Frog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca).

Due to its proximity to Hollywood, this species of chorus frog has often had its vocalizations featured as stock sounds in film and television. Consequently, its distinctive “ribbit, ribbit” call has become the quintessential frog sound in the English-speaking world, even though only this species and a few closely related ones actually produce that sound.

I’ve heard bullfrogs a couple of times recently (at Malibu Creek and the pond at Rocky Oaks), so got curious about them. This amphibian is invasive here, as well as in South America, Western Europe, China, Japan, and southeast Asia.

Bullfrogs are voracious, opportunistic, ambush predators. Their stomachs have been found to contain rodents, small lizards and snakes (including the young of the California endemic giant garter snake, a threatened species), other frogs and toads, amphibians, crayfish, other crustaceans, small birds, scorpions, tarantulas and bats, as well as the many types of invertebrates, such as snails, worms and insects.

Earlier this year, the Utah Department of Natural Resources began tweeting tips on how to catch and cook bullfrogs in an effort to encourage residents to help control the growing population by catching the invasive frogs for food. Bullfrogs are also used for dissection in science classes, but this demand is never going to outstrip the supply!

Would you ever eat bullfrog?

^{Sketched from a Creative Commons photo by Carl D. Howe}