



Pig Frog - Rana grylio

- Diagnostic Features:
- Size: 3 to 6.25 inches (80 to 162 mm)
- Color:
- Varies from olive to dark brown
- Other:
- Large frog
- Narrow and pointed head
- Prominent tympanum
- Prominent dark dorsal spots
- Ventral surfaces white or pale yellow with gray mottling
on thighs
- No dorsolateral folds
- Hind feet are fully webbed. Compare to Bullfrog,
and Carpenter Frog, young
Pig Frogs in particular resemble these other species.
- Natural History:
- Habitat:
- This frog is seen in large bodies of water, such as
lakes and marshes amid floating vegetation.
- Behavior:
- It is nocturnal. This frog is difficult to approach. It
is territorial and feeds primarily on crawfish, but eats
minnows, snakes, and smaller frogs
- Breeding:
- Breeding takes place from April to August.
- Each female deposits about 10,000 eggs in a thin layer
on the surface of the water
- Voice: Sonogram
: Call
( Ben Hill, Seminole, & Terrell Counties )
- Short, low-pitched piglike grunts
- Single, internal vocal sac that looks like it has three
parts when inflated
- Tadpoles:
- Tadpole stage: about 1 year
- Transformed size: 32 - 49 mm
- LTRF usually 2/3; to 25 TL; prominent (formed of many,
closely-arranged, bright-colored cells) to faint (formed of
fewer, widely-spaced cells) transverse golden, brassy, or
russet band at mid-body (may or may not be visible in preserved
specimen but sparse distributions of melanophores in this area
often allow detection of where band was); fins usually not
pigmented but may be slightly opaque; throughout continent but
several species limited to Atlantic and Gulf coastal
plains
- LTRF usually 2/3; ca. 25-110 TL; body brown to russet with
small, subtle, darker markings; middle of dorsal fin with
longitudinal dark line or row of dots; Atlantic and Gulf
coastal plains from southeastern Texas to New Jersey

- P-2/P-3 ca. 1.7; ground color brown with subtle mottling,
longitudinal series of dark dots in dorsal fin; summer breeder,
usually in permanent lentic sites in Coastal Plain from
southwestern Louisiana and adjacent Texas to central South
Carolina

- high contrast (easily visible without magnification) brassy
band at mid-body on black ground color; with tadpole growth,
band fades as ground color turns to russet; fins slightly
opaque; tail muscle unicolored; summer breeder, usually in
permanent lentic sites in Coastal Plain from southwestern
Louisiana and adjacent Texas to central South Carolina
- Range:
- In North America, this frog is found in the Deep South of
the United States from South Carolina to East Texas.
- In Georgia, it is found primarily in the southern part of
the state.


- In Light Blue:
Williamson, Gerald K. & Moulis, Robert A., Distribution of
Amphibians and Reptiles in Georgia, Special Publication No. 3,
Savannah Science Museum, Inc. Savannah, Georgia, 1994. Museum
specimens
- In Pale Blue:
Williamson, Gerald K. & Moulis, Robert A., Distribution of
Amphibians and Reptiles in Georgia, Special Publication No. 3,
Savannah Science Museum, Inc. Savannah, Georgia, 1994.
Literature only, no museum specimens.
- In Green: Sound
Recordings
- In Yellow: From Both
'94 study and Sound Recordings
- In Magenta: Photograph,
not found by '94, may or may not be sound record
- In Medium Blue:
Photograph and in '94 study, may or may not be sound
record
- In Orange: County Record by
other Herp Atlas Volunteers
- In Red: US Distribution
from various sources


September 9, 2006 - wwknapp@mindspring.com