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Pig frog

Lithobates grylio · Frogs and toads · Amphibians

Pig frog (Lithobates grylio): Adults about 8.2-16.5 cm snout-vent; green, olive or brown with dark spots toward the hind end; white-grey belly; smooth skin. Resembles American bullfrog but the snout is much more pointed; hind feet almost fully webbed. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the pig frog map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Lithobates grylio
Family
Ranidae
In North America
Native
Range
Southern South Carolina to southern Florida and west to southeastern Texas; introduced in the Bahamas and northern Puerto Rico.
Biology

How to identify it

Adults about 8.2-16.5 cm snout-vent; green, olive or brown with dark spots toward the hind end; white-grey belly; smooth skin. [1][2]

Resembles American bullfrog but the snout is much more pointed; hind feet almost fully webbed. [1][2]

Call: 1-13 short, loud pig-like grunts; choruses sound like a roar. [1][2]

Compared with the american bullfrog: Pig frog has a much more pointed snout and is smaller than the bullfrog. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a pig frog before you act. Compared with the american bullfrog: Pig frog has a much more pointed snout and is smaller than the bullfrog.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Permanent lakes, ponds, swamps, marshes and streams, especially with abundant emergent or floating vegetation; old rice fields. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Fully aquatic and confined to wetlands; males call floating in water and are territorial. [1][2]

Feeds nocturnally, mostly on arthropods, especially crayfish (20-75% of diet). [1][2]

Chorusing is typically nocturnal per NatureServe, while Animal Diversity Web says it typically calls by day. [1][2]

Burrows into mud when wetlands dry or to hibernate (Nov-March) in colder regions. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Southern South Carolina to southern Florida and west to southeastern Texas; introduced in the Bahamas and northern Puerto Rico.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology