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Lithobates septentrionalis

(Baird, 1854)

Mink Frog

G5Secure Found in 7 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100329
Element CodeAAABH01190
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderAnura
FamilyRanidae
GenusLithobates
Synonyms
Aquarana septentrionalis(Baird, 1854)Rana septentrionalisBaird, 1854
Other Common Names
Grenouille du Nord (FR)
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
Transferred to the genus Aquarana (Dubois et al. 2021). 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.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-08
Change Date2001-11-26
Edition Date2010-01-26
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
Range extends from Labrador to southern Manitoba, and south to northern New England and northern Wisconsin (Conant and Collins 1991).
Occurrences Comments
Represented by many and/or large occurrences throughout most of the range.
Ecology & Habitat

Description

Mink frogs are green to olive-gray, with dark spots or mottling on the back. Sometimes there is a ridge along each side of the back but usually it is absent. The webbing between the hind toes extends to the last joint of the 4th toe and to the tip of the 5th toe. Dark marks on the upper side of the hind legs form irregular blotches that are elongated along the long axis of each leg. These frogs have odorous skin that smells like a mink or crushed scallions. Maximum size is around 3 inches (7.6 cm) snout-vent length. The breeding call is a rapid, sharp "cut-cut-cut-ghrrr" or "tok-tok-tok-tok-tok;" a chorus may sound like distant hamemring or horse's hooves on a cobblestone road. Larvae are greenish or brown with dark spots or mottling that may extend onto the tail; the belly is yellowish and opaque; the tail tip is long and sharply pointed (if not damaged); maximum total length is about 4 inches (10 cm). Egg masses are globular, about 3-6 inches in diameter, and contain several hundred eggs.

Habitat

Mink frogs inhabit cold lakes and ponds and their shallow peripheral pools, and inlets and outlets of ponds and lakes, often among emergent or floating vegetation (e.g., lily pads) in open water or along shores. They are highly aquatic but sometimes venture away from water onto land during very wet weather. Hibernation sites are underwater. Eggs and larvae develop in permanent lakes and ponds. Eggs are attached to submerged vegetation but may later sink to the bottom.

Ecology

The strong odor of mink frogs may serve as an anti-predator mechanism, but these frogs are nevertheless eaten by great blue herons, raccoon, and other animals.

Reproduction

Breeding occurs in late spring and summer, mainly late May to early August (peak often June-July). Adult females deposit clutches of a few thousand eggs, June to August. The aquatic larval stage lasts 1-2 years. Individuals become sexually mature 1-2 years after metamorphosis.
Palustrine Habitats
Bog/fenRiparian
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MichiganS3Yes
MaineS4Yes
MinnesotaS5Yes
New YorkS5Yes
WisconsinS3Yes
New HampshireS3Yes
VermontS3Yes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
QuebecS5Yes
Island of NewfoundlandSNANo
ManitobaS3Yes
New BrunswickS5Yes
OntarioS5Yes
LabradorS5Yes
Roadless Areas (7)
Michigan (2)
AreaForestAcres
FibreHiawatha National Forest7,432
Norwich Plains Revised Roadless AreaOttawa National Forest4,360
Minnesota (3)
AreaForestAcres
Brule Lake - Eagle MountainSuperior National Forest12,380
Cabin CreekSuperior National Forest6,071
Phantom LakeSuperior National Forest6,521
New Hampshire (2)
AreaForestAcres
Cherry MountainWhite Mountain National Forest8,766
KilkennyWhite Mountain National Forest28,766
References (18)
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Che, J., J. Pang, E. M. Zhao, M. Matsui, and Y. P. Zhang. 2007. Phylogenetic relationships of the Chinese brown frogs (genus <i>Rana</i>) inferred from partial mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA gene sequences. Zoological Science 24(1):71-80.
  4. 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.
  5. Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1998. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 616 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. DeGraaf, R. M., and D. D. Rudis. 1983a. Amphibians and reptiles of New England. Habitats and natural history. Univ. Massachusetts Press. vii + 83 pp.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. Frost, D.R., T. Grant, J. Faivovich, R. Bain, A. Haas, C.F.B. Haddad, R.O. de Sa´, S.C. Donnellan, C.J. Raxworthy, M. Wilkinson, A. Channing, J.A. Campbell, B.L. Blotto, P. Moler, R.C. Drewes, R.A. Nussbaum, J.D. Lynch, D. Green, and W.C. Wheeler. 2006. The amphibian tree of life. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 297: 1-370.
  14. Hedeen, S.E. 1977. <i>Rana septentionalis</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 202:1-2.
  15. Kramek, W.C. 1972. Food of the frog, <i>Rana septentrionalis</i> in New York. Copeia. 1972(2):390-392.
  16. 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. 87 pp. Online database available at: https://cnah.org/SSARnames.aspx
  17. Vogt, R. C. 1981c. Natural history of amphibians and reptiles of Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum. 205 pp.
  18. Yuan, Z.-Y, W.-W. Zhou, X. Chen, N.A. Poyarkov Jr, H.-M. Chen, N.-H. Jang-Liaw, W.-H. Chou, N.J. Matzke, K. Iizuka, M.-S. Min, S.L. Kuzmin, Y.-P. Zhang, D.C. Cannatella, D.M. Hillis, and J. Chesp. 2016. Spatiotemporal diversification of the true frogs (genus <i>Rana</i>): a historical framework for a widely studied group of model organisms. Systematic biology 65(5):824-842.