During a recent field trip to Reily, Ohio, we found a number of interesting herps. The trip proved to be very successful because of the time of the year (1st week in April) and the weather, which was about 65 degrees and sunny.
Our trip consisted of searching along this creek you can see in the background of the picture as well as an ephemeral pond in the woods alongside of the pond. As we learned in class and saw in our trip, there was much more herp diversity in the temporary, ephemeral ponds due to a low level of predation and a high level of nutrients.
One of the species we found was this bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). This individual we found is a fairly small individual, about 3 1/2 inches in length. Normally, bullfrogs can measure between 3 1/2 and 6 inches in length. They are typically green in color or have a netlike pattern of gray or brown on a green background. They are aquatic and prefer large bodies of water, which is no surprise why we found this individual in the larger creek as opposed to the smaller, ephemeral pond. The bullfrog is a voracious amphibian that will eat virtually anything that moves and is small enough for it to swallow. Its range is basically the entire eastern United States although it has been unwisely introduced to other areas. (Ashley Smith, Miami University)
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