Species
Carpenter frog
Lithobates virgatipes
A small, striped frog of acid swamps whose call sounds like two carpenters hammering.
Photo geosesarma (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 4 to 6.5 cm long
- Habitat
- Sphagnum bogs, blackwater swamps and acid ponds
- Diet
- Insects
- In Georgia
- Southeast Georgia, including the Okefenokee
- Voice
- A double hammering "ka-tunk", like two carpenters out of step
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Brown with four light stripes down the back and sides; no ridges on the back
- Told apart from
- Green frog, which has ridges down the back and no light stripes
- Where to look
- Among sphagnum and floating plants in acid wetlands
Behaviour
It calls from floating mats of sphagnum on summer nights, often in pairs with overlapping calls.
Why they matter
It is a specialist of acid bogs and blackwater swamps and is rare in Georgia.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Clusters attached to plants
Hatching — In a week or two
Tadpoles — Take about a year to change
Maturity — In two years
Lifespan — Several years
Calling — Summer
Living around people
- It is harmless and rarely met.
Misconceptions
- Hammering in a swamp at night is people. It is carpenter frogs.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Under water | Under water | Active | Calling | Breeding | Breeding | Breeding | Young | Active | Active | Under water | Under water |
Where it lives
Recorded in 8 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
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