Foothill yellow-legged frog
| Foothill yellow-legged frog | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Ranidae |
| Genus: | Rana |
| Species: | R. boylii |
| Binomial name | |
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Rana boylii Baird, 1854 |
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The foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) is a small-sized 3.72–8.2 cm (1.46–3.23 in) frog from the Rana genus in the Ranidae family. This species can be found from northern Oregon, down California's west coast, and into Baja California, Mexico. Both the Columbia spotted frog and the Cascades frog, also part of the Rana genus, live in the northern regions of this frog's territory. They prefer to live in streams and rivers, and lay their eggs in masses attached to rocks underwater.
The foothill yellow-legged frog has a grey, brown, or reddish dorsum, or the back of the frog. It is commonly spotted or mottled, but occasionally is plainly colored. Adults have yellow coloration under their legs, which may extend to their abdomens, but this characteristic is faint or absent in young frogs.
A triangular, buff-colored patch occurs on the snout, and, unlike other frogs in the genus, there is no eye stripe. The throat and chest are often boldly mottled; and the species has indistinct dorsolateral skin folds and granular skin. Males of this species develop nuptial pads on their thumb bases during the breeding season. These frogs can be identified by their rough skin, horizontal pupils, fully webbed hind feet, and their habit of jumping into moving water.
Tadpoles of this species, though, resemble those of the western toad, Bufo boreas. R. boylii as tadpoles have fairly flattened tails that lack color at the end and are the tallest in the midsection. The mouths of the tadpoles are made for suction to rocks, with labial teeth rows used for scraping algae and diatoms, unicellular algae with cells walls that contain silica, off of the rocks to which they are clinging. The mouth of the young R. boylii is also helpful in identifying it from B. boreas because the young foothill yellow-legged frogs develop more defined teeth rows after three weeks, while their counterparts do not.
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Wikipedia