A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California
Rana draytonii - California Red-legged Frog
Breeding, Eggs, and Tadpoles
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| Breeding Amplexus | |||
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| Male California Red-legged Frog in breeding amplexus with an American Bullfrog in Santa Cruz County. © Michael G. Starkey |
Adult male in amplexus with a California Toad, Contra Costa County. |
A second adult male in amplexus with a California Toad, Contra Costa County. |
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| Female Rana draytonii are larger than males, and the larger they are, the more fertile they appear to the males. So it is common for males to prefer to amplex large juvenile American Bullfrogs when they both occur in the same pond. This can lead to a reduction in the numbers of Rana draytonii. Read more information about this troubling conservation issue below. | Juvenile bullfrogs are not the only other species that male Rana draytonii will attempt to breed with. One day at two ponds where California Toads were breeding, I saw three examples of this two-species amplexus. Two individual pairs are shown above and the third is below. |
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| A third adult male in amplexus with a California Toad, being mobbed by other male toads, Contra Costa County. | Two male red-legged frogs in amplexus with California Toads. | ||
| Eggs | |||
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| Eggs in habitat, Contra Costa County | Eggs, Contra Costa County | Eggs, Contra Costa County | Eggs, Contra Costa County |
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| Eggs, Contra Costa County | Egg mass, Sonoma County © Bill Stagnaro |
Eggs, Sonoma County © Bill Stagnaro |
Eggs, Sonoma County © Bill Stagnaro |
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Egg mass, Sonoma County © Bill Stagnaro |
Eggs in a pond in mid March, Contra Costa County. © Mark Gary | Eggs in a pond in mid March, Contra Costa County. © Mark Gary | Developing eggs in a pond in mid March, Contra Costa County. © Mark Gary |
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| Eggs in a pond in mid March, Contra Costa County. © Mark Gary | Egg masses in Alameda County © Joseph E. DiDonato. | Eggs in a pond, Alameda County © 2000 Joyce Gross |
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| Egg masses in breeding pond, shortly after hatching, Monterey County. Courtesy of David Keegan & Susan Whitford of the Santa Lucia Conservancy. | There are three types of frog eggs in this Contra Costa County pond in mid March: the large mass on top is from the California Red-legged Frog, the long strings of eggs are from the California Toad, and the small balls of eggs are from the Sierran Treefrog. © Mark Gary |
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| Tadpoles | |||
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| Tadpole, Monterey County, on top, with CA Tiger Salamander larva on bottom. | Tadpole, Monterey County © 2004 William Leonard |
Mature tadpole in water at edge of pond, Contra Costa County. | Mature tadpole in a pond, Contra Costa County. |
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| California Red-legged frog tadpole | Top - CA Red-legged frog tadpole. Bottom - Sierran Treefrog tadpole |
Right - CA Red-legged frog tadpole. Left - Sierran Treefrog tadpole |
Recently deceased mature tadpole in a pond, Contra Costa County. |
| The eyes of the tadpoles of Rana draytonii are inset from the margins of the head when seen from above, while the eyes of the tadpoles of the sympatric Sierran Treefrog - Pseudacris sierra and the Baja California Treefrog - Pseudacris hypochondriaca extend to the margins of the head, as you can see in the above photos from Alameda Counthy. © Joseph E. DiDonato. | |||
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| Tadpole, Santa Clara County © Rob Schell |
Mature tadpoles and recent metamorph, Santa Barbara County © Vince Semonsen |
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Short Videos |
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| Two male California Red-legged Frogs are seen here in a Contra Costa County pond in March in amplexus with California Toads (possibly female.) Male toads attempt to wrestle the frogs off their prospective mates. When they grab the frogs, the frogs give their low chuckling release call, while the toads make their peeping release call. The video also starts and ends with the frog release calls. | More shots of male California Red-legged frogs in amplexus with California Toads. | A brief look at two masses of fresh red-legged frog eggs in a small pond. | Quick looks at a few large California red-legged frog tadpoles in a couple of small ponds. It's hard to get good pictures of these tadpoles because I'm not allowed to catch them. The one shown above was actually injured and dying floating at the edge of a pond, so I was able to get it in focus, at least. |
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