BULLFROG

(Rana catesbeiana), solitary aquatic frog (family Ranidae), named for its loud call. This largest North American frog, native to the eastern states, has been introduced into the western states and into other countries. The name is also applied to other large frogs, such as R., or Pyxicephalas, adspersa in Africa, R. tigrina in India, and certain of the Leptodactylidae (q.v.) of South America. The bullfrog is green or brown with a white to yellowish belly and dark-barred legs. Body length is to about 20 centimetres (8 inches); hindlegs to 25 centimetres (10 inches). Large adults weigh 0.5 kilogram (one pound) or more. Bullfrogs usually live in or near bodies of still water. They breed in spring; the eggs are laid in water and hatch into dark-spotted greenish-brown tadpoles. Depending on climate, the tadpole stage lasts one to three years. Many bullfrogs are caught for food, and many are used as laboratory animals.