bullfrog(redirected from American Bullfrog)
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bullfrog,common name of the largest North American frog, Rana catesbeiana. Native to the E United States, this species has been successfully introduced in the West and in other parts of the world. The body length is 4 to 8 in. (10–20 cm), and the legs may be up to 10 in. (25 cm) long. An aquatic form with fully webbed toes, the bullfrog can close its nostrils and lie at the bottom of a pond for some time. Males have a loud, booming call. Bullfrog tadpoles require two or three years to become adults. The bullfrog is the only frog whose legs are marketed in quantity for food in the United States. Several other large frogs of the genus Rana are called bullfrogs in other regions. Bullfrogs are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Amphibia, order Anura, family Ranidae.
(Rana catesbiana), one of the largest representatives of the genus Rana of the family Ranidae. Length, up to 20 cm; weight, up to 600 g. The back is olive brown with indistinct dark brown spots.
The bullfrog is widely distributed in North America, where it lives in thickets along rivers. It feeds on invertebrates, small fish, frogs, and small mammals; it preys on the nestlings of domesticated ducks. The males make a bellowing noise that sounds like a bull (hence the name). The tadpoles develop for two years. Bullfrogs have commercial value as food and are bred on farms. They have been introduced into some South American countries and Japan.