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Photo © A.B. Sheldon
Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens) is a light-green to greenish-brown frog with circular dark spots on its back, sides, and legs. There is generally a white or yellow color that borders the spots. Most notably, the species has white dorsolateral folds that run from the back of each eye to the end of the body. Northern leopard frogs are found in a variety of wetland habitats, especially in fishless waters including springs, ponds, bogs, marshes, and lakes. The species may forage a far distance from water in old fields and prairies. This species is not actively tracked in the Natural Heritage Inventory Database, but it could be tracked in the future if there is further evidence of its decline.
The table below provides information about the protected status - both state and federal - and the rank (S and G Ranks) for Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens). See the Working List Key for more information about abbreviations. Counties shaded blue have documented occurrences for this species in the Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory database. The map is provided as a general reference of where occurrences of this species meet NHI data standards and is not meant as a comprehensive map of all observations.
Note: Species recently added to the NHI Working List may temporarily have blank occurrence maps.
| Summary Information | |
|---|---|
| State Status | none |
| Federal Status in Wisconsin | SOC |
| State Rank | S4? |
| Global Rank | G5 |
| Tracked by NHI | W |
| WWAP | m-SIN |
A guidance document is not available at this time. Use the information from the other tabs and contact local biologists, as needed, to develop management and avoidance strategies.
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Photo © A.B. Sheldon.
Northern Leopard Frog tadpole
Photo © A.B. Sheldon.
Photo by staff, WDNR.
Photo © A.B. Sheldon.
Photo © A.B. Sheldon.