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Rio Grande leopard frog

Lithobates berlandieri · Frogs and toads · Amphibians

Rio Grande leopard frog (Lithobates berlandieri): Adults 5.7-11.4 cm snout-vent, a rather large leopard frog with an angular nose and long powerful legs (ADW; CDFW). Gray, green or brown back with many irregular dark brown spots edged olive-green or light tan (ADW). This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

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

Scientific name
Lithobates berlandieri
Family
Ranidae
In North America
Native
Range
Native to extreme southern New Mexico and central and western Texas south through eastern and southern Mexico to Nicaragua; introduced and well established in the Imperial Valley and along the lower Colorado and Gila rivers in California and Arizona, replacing native lowland leopard frogs (NatureServe).
Biology

How to identify it

Adults 5.7-11.4 cm snout-vent, a rather large leopard frog with an angular nose and long powerful legs (ADW; CDFW). [1][2][3]

Gray, green or brown back with many irregular dark brown spots edged olive-green or light tan (ADW). [1][2][3]

Prominent dorsolateral folds, usually pale yellow, that turn inward in front of the groin (ADW). [1][2][3]

Cream belly fading to pale yellow on the upper thighs; females lighter and smaller than males (ADW). [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Streams, rivers, springs, stock ponds, backwaters, canals, ditches and arroyo pools in grassland, shrubland, savanna, desert and woodland; where introduced, mainly ditches, canals, irrigation sumps and modified rivers (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Primarily nocturnal; chiefly a stream dweller that uses temporary and permanent water and is rarely far from it (NatureServe; CDFW; ADW). [1][2][3]

Lays eggs after rains at almost any time of year, mostly March-May and August-November in Texas (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Males give mating trills, release calls and chuckle calls (ADW). [1][2][3]

Disperses along canals, ditches and rivers (CDFW). [1][2][3]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

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

Native to extreme southern New Mexico and central and western Texas south through eastern and southern Mexico to Nicaragua; introduced and well established in the Imperial Valley and along the lower Colorado and Gila rivers in California and Arizona, replacing native lowland leopard frogs (NatureServe).

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology

  3. California Department of Fish and Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    California Department of Fish and Wildlife