The College of Charleston's Herpetology class went on a field trip to the Francis Marion National Forest February 10, 2009. We were excited to find several amphibians on our trip, such as the Lesser siren (Siren intermedia) and Southern cricket frog (Acris gryllus). We also found a beautiful big frog around 4inches long and at first we thought it was a Bull Frog (Rana catesbeiana), but we noticed that this frog had extensive webbed hind feet all the way to the tip of the toes. It also had a white belly with speckled brown flecks. We came to the conclusion that he was actually a Pig frog (Rana grylio). Hearing his call would confirm or deny this identification. Notice his tympanum. I was really taken away by his eyes. They were a bright hazel/amber color and were absolutely beautiful. I tried to capture this image, but it came out slightly blurry although you can still somewhat see his eye color. I was sad to see that there was a hole in one of his webbed feet. You can actually see the hole in the very first picture.
-Shahila Sriskanda (SC)
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