Lithobates heckscheri

The generic taxonomy of American ranids is controversial, with three nomenclatural arrangements being consistent with current understandings of phylogeny: The single-genus arrangement of Yuan et al. (2016) which placed all Eurasian Rana and Pseudorana as well as all American ranids into Rana; the three-genus model of Che et al. (2007), largely in agreement with the earlier arrangement by Frost et al. (2006), which recognizes Pseudorana in Asia, Rana in Eurasia and western North America, and Lithobates in the Americas; and a seven-genus model of Dubois et al. (2021) which recognizes Pseudorana, Rana, and Liuhurana in Eurasia and Amerana (the Pacific Coast ranids of North America), Aquarana (for the bullfrogs and allies), Boreorana (a monotypic genus for Wood Frog, L. sylvaticus), and Lithobates (for the leopard frogs and allies). Here we follow Nicholson (2025) who defer from recognizing Amerana, Aquarana, or Boreorana at this time pending achievement of more phylogenetic stability, especially with respect to the position of the taxon sylvaticus which inconsistently is recovered as sister to the proposed Aquarana or as sister to Lithobates.

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.