The black-spotted frog is one of the most familiar frogs of East Asia, calling loudly from rice paddies and ponds in Korea, Japan, and eastern China. Look for a pale stripe running down the middle of the back, two more stripes along the sides, and bold dark blotches in between. It is not native to the United States; an introduced population has been reported on O‘ahu, Hawaii.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Adults are about 2.4–3.5 in (6–9 cm) long, and females are larger than males. The back ranges from gray to olive or green with large dark spots, a pale midline stripe, and two raised stripes along the sides. The belly is white.
- Voice
- Males call with a pair of that puff out at the corners of the mouth.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Rice paddies
- Ponds
- Marshes
- Slow streams
- Range
- Native to eastern and northeastern China, the Amur River valley in Russia, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan (Honshu except the Kanto and Sendai plains, Shikoku, and Kyushu). Introduced populations have been reported in places such as O‘ahu, Hawaii.
- Preferred conditions
- A lowland frog of still or slow-moving water, not found above about 7,200 ft (2,200 m). It copes fairly well with farmland and other human-changed landscapes.
Behavior
- Diet
- Mainly insects and spiders; it will also swallow small frogs. In a Japanese lab experiment, most frogs ate Asian giant hornet workers even after being stung in the mouth and eyes, and showed no visible harm.
- Activity
- Active from spring to fall and spends the winter underground.
Life cycle
- Breeding season
- Spring to early summer, right after waking from winter dormancy
- Clutch size
- about 1,800–3,000 eggs
- Time to maturity
- Probably about 2 years
- Lifespan
- Usually 3–4 years in the wild
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
- Status
- Hunting for food and water pollution are growing threats in parts of its range.
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