April 24, 2006
Kiss That Frog
by peterbThe little boy had been off by himself for a while while the rest of us were near the stream pretending to fish. When he came back had a net full of frogs.
"Now, you be sure to put those back," said his dad. "Well," the little boy said, "I have to keep one, because he peed on me. So I have to keep that one in the net, as punishment." Despite this, all six or seven frogs stayed in the net.
A little while later, I realized from conversation that some of the frogs in his net were mating. I heard the little boy telling some of the fishermen that the frogs "were on their honeymoon." "Lots of frogs seem to be on their honeymoon over by the woods," he said.
"Hey," I said. "Can you put those frogs on their honeymoon down, so I can take a picture of them?"
"Sure." He put them down. I got the photo.
The female frog began to hop away. The male stayed clamped on her back. The little boy scooped the two of them up and put them back into the frog orgy in his net.
It's not easy being green.
Looks like a toad to me. :) But it's devlishily hard to tell anura apart. Great photo!
Posted by Chris at April 25, 2006 03:04 AM"Frog" tends to be a colloquial usage for both toads and frogs here, especially among children. But, I just spent some time at http://www.washjeff.edu/Chartiers/chartier/KEY/main.html ("Keys to the Animals of Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Surrounding Region"), and you are indeed correct. WIth a side view (not pictured), you can see the parotoid glands. They appear to be bufo americanus (americanii?)
Posted by peterb at April 25, 2006 07:21 AMPlease help support Tea Leaves by visiting our sponsors.
