Main Content
American bullfrogs will ambush and eat just about anything they can fit in their ample mouths.
Photograph by Bianca Lavies
Map
American Bullfrog Range
Audio
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Amphibian
- Diet:
- Carnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- 7 to 9 years
- Size:
- (adult female) 3.5 to 6 in (9 to 15 cm)
- Weight:
- 1.1 lb (0.50 kg)
- Group name:
- Army or colony
- Did you know?
- A female bullfrog can lay as many as 20,000 eggs, which float in a clump on the surface of the water.
- Size relative to a tea cup:
-
The baritone call of the bullfrog is so deep and resonant, it resembles the mooing of a cow, hence its name. Only males emit this trademark "jug-o-rum" bellow, and their choruses can be heard during the day or night.
The largest of all North American frogs, this giant can grow to a length of 8 inches (20 centimeters) or more and weigh up to 1.5 pounds (750 grams). Even the tadpoles of this species can reach 6.75 inches (17.2 centimeters) in length.
They are among the most wide-ranging of all North American amphibians, found in freshwater ponds, lakes, and marshes from Nova Scotia, Canada, throughout the continental United States, and as far south as Mexico and Cuba. They have even found their way to Europe, South America, and Asia.
Bullfrogs are typically green or gray-brown with brown spots and have easily identifiable circular eardrums, or tympanum, on either side of their heads.
Nocturnal predators, they will ambush and eat just about anything they can fit in their ample mouths, including insects, mice, fish, birds, and snakes. They sit quietly and wait for prey to pass by, then lunge with their powerful hind legs, mouths open wide.
Males are highly territorial and will aggressively guard their land. Females are slightly larger than males.
Amphibian Features
-
It's a Frog's Life
They look like spilled candy. You'll be tempted to scoop one up and cup it in your hands. But let it go, because the red-eyed tree frog's life is an extraordinary journey.
-
Photos: Ten "Lost" Amphibians
From the golden toad to the Turkestanian salamander—the quest begins for the ten likely extinct amphibian species conservationists most want to rediscover.
-
Spotted Salamander
Go underground and meet this salamander that's both large and common, yet so secretive it’s rarely seen.
-
Coming This Fall
Don't miss Great Migrations, a seven-part television event taking you around the world on the arduous journeys millions of animals undertake to ensure the survival of their species.
Animals A-Z
Advertisement
Special Ad Section
-
School Contest
Enter your idea in the Find Your Footprint contest and your classroom and school could win big!
-
Vote Now
Over 14,000 photographs were submitted to the contest. Vote for your favorite finalists!
Blogs
-
The Beauty of Insect Eggs
Engineered for survival, insect eggs hang on and hatch wherever their parents deposit them.
-
Eels Photo Gallery
The freshwater eel is one of the few fishes to spawn in the ocean and spend its adulthood in lakes, rivers, and estuaries.
-
A Grassland Kingdom
India’s Kaziranga park shelters tigers, buffalo, and rhinos.
-
Valley of the Whales
The origins of the marine mammal lie buried in Egyptian sand.
