American Bullfrog

Here's the first American Bullfrog I've met this year. They might be the 2nd easiest-to-spot frog in NJ, probably behind the Green Frog. And the two frogs look fairly similar too. Technically American Bullfrogs can get bigger, though size can be difficult to judge from a distance, and many of our bullfrogs aren't at their maximum possible size. The most obvious difference is that Green Frogs has a pair of prominent ridges going down their backs that differentiates them from the American Bullfrog.

These guys are voracious eaters of pretty much any animal small enough to swallow; it's not just flies that they eat.

This guy looks a little bony; I suspect that the frog hasn't had a lot of time to eat since its winter dormancy.

April 13, 2021 at the Delaware-Raritan Canal
Photo 121031804, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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