Wild Northern Red-Legged Frog (Rana Aurora)

[Samalander]

I came across this delightful chap while out on a bike ride today, by far the largest RLF I've ever found!



I managed to flip him over to show off the red-markings on his legs.

[Namio]

That is a big mama. Nice looking frog!

[Samalander]

That is a big mama. Nice looking frog!

And by 'delightful chap' I mean 'lovely lady'.

Just wondering, how can you tell? Is it based solely on body size or is there some other indicator?

[Namio]

And by 'delightful chap' I mean 'lovely lady'.

Just wondering, how can you tell? Is it based solely on body size or is there some other indicator?

Yeah a sheer body size is at times indicative of sex in Rana aurora. Mature females are quite larger than mature males. Adult males look more like a juvenile frog usually maxed out at 2 inches SVL, and has robust forearms and nuptial pads. To me, adult males look like little sumo wrestlers. On the other hand, adult females are just massive relative to males with no nuptial pads. I have seen an old female frog that was 3-4 inches SVL.

[nirotorin]

Great find. Nice videos too.