Roadless Areas
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Lithobates heckscheri

(Wright, 1924)

River Frog

G5Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103815
Element CodeAAABH01120
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderAnura
FamilyRanidae
GenusLithobates
Synonyms
Aquarana heckscheri(Wright, 1924)Rana heckscheriWright, 1924
Other Common Names
river frog (EN)
Concept Reference
Frost, D. R. 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. v + 732 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
The generic taxonomy of American ranids is controversial (see discussion in Nicholson 2025). Recognition of the genus Aquarana by Dubois et al. (2021) is not followed by SSAR (Nicholson 2025) pending achievement of more phylogenetic stability.
Conservation Status
Review Date2002-04-12
Change Date2001-11-21
Edition Date2002-04-12
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
Coastal Plain from southern North Carolina (at least formerly) to northern Florida, west through extreme southern Alabama to southeastern Mississippi (Conant and Collins 1991). Most of the range is in northern Florida, southern Georgia, and southern South Carolina.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Swamps along streams and edges of shallow ponds and impoundments (including beaver ponds). Eggs and larvae develop in permanent swamp waters.

Reproduction

Lays clutch of probably several thousand eggs April to August. Aquatic larval stage lasts 1-2 years.
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLAND
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
South CarolinaS4Yes
MississippiS1Yes
GeorgiaS5Yes
North CarolinaSXYes
AlabamaS1Yes
FloridaS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial development——High (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areas——High (continuing)
1.2 - Commercial & industrial areas——High (continuing)
1.3 - Tourism & recreation areas——High (continuing)
4 - Transportation & service corridors——High (continuing)
4.1 - Roads & railroads——High (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (2)
Florida (2)
AreaForestAcres
Gum BayApalachicola National Forest11,645
SavannahApalachicola National Forest1,927
References (15)
  1. Bartlett, R. D., and P. P. Bartlett. 1999b. A field guide to Florida reptiles and amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. xvi + 278 pp.
  2. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  3. Blackburn, L., P. Nanjappa, and M. J. Lannoo. 2001. An Atlas of the Distribution of U.S. Amphibians. Copyright, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA.
  4. Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xvii + 429 pp.
  5. Conant, R. and J. T. Collins. 1991. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 450 pp.
  6. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  7. Dubois, A., A. Ohler, and R. A. Pyron. 2021. New concepts and methods for phylogenetic taxonomy and nomenclature in zoology, exemplified by a new ranked cladonomy of recent amphibians (Lissamphibia). Megataxa 5:1-738.
  8. Frost, D. R. 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. v + 732 pp.
  9. Frost, D. R. 2010. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.4 (8 April 2010). Electronic Database accessible at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
  10. Frost, D.R. 2020. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Online: http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html
  11. Frost, D. R. 2026. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.2. Electronic Database accessible at https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. doi.org/10.5531/db.vz.0001
  12. Martof, B. S., W. M. Palmer, J. R. Bailey, and J. R. Harrison, III. 1980. Amphibians and reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 264 pp.
  13. Mount, R. H. 1975. The reptiles and amphibians of Alabama. Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. vii + 347 pp.
  14. Nicholson, K. E. (ed.). 2025. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Ninth Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 87pp. Online database available at: https://cnah.org/SSARnames.aspx
  15. Sanders, A.E. 1984. <i>Rana heckscheri</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 348:1-2.