Tonight I caught not only this big guy:
American bullfrog
But also a big fat tadpole swimming in the shallows:
Bullfrogs breed in June & July so the tadpole is either 8 or 20 months old. Note how the color patterns are similar in the adult and larva, especially on the ventral surface (stomach).
I was too soft-hearted to do anything to the frog, but the tadpole has been removed from its pond in Vancouver (in case you didn't know, most people believe this invasive species is partially to blame for the decline in native amphibian populations due to predation, competition for food, and spreading of disease). It is illegal to transport this species in the state of Washington so I am definitely not taking this guy back up to Seattle with me to raise in the greenhouse.
2 Guest entries:
Boy he's huge ! We hear the deep sounds of the bullfrogs where we like to walk around our Riparian preserve lakes but have never gone hunting to actually see them.
That's just SICK! ;)
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