Leopard Frogs at Emiquon the Nature Conservancy

On August 1, Joe Phipps and I went to look for a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, which had been sighted near the Ameren Substation in Havana, IL. We were unable to locate the flycatcher, but we found several Sora in the flooded field on the road to the substation. Then we went to Emiquon the Nature Conservancy where we found hundreds of leopard frogs by the wetland. We tried catch the frogs, but we were unable to do so because they were too fast. So I managed to take some photos without catching them. Later, Angelo Capparella helped me identify the frogs to species. I actually photographed two leopard from species at Emiquon. The first, a Plains Leopard Frog, is distinguished by a brow spot above the snout and a broken dorsolateral dermal plica (the line that goes from its eye to its rump). This line is broken near the rump.





The second leopard frog species is a Southern Leopard Frog. Notice it has no brow spot and the dorsolateral dermal plica is unbroken.







Written on 9-25-15