Description
Adult R. Aurora range from 4.4 to 8.4 cm in length, with females significantly larger than males (Stebbins 1985; Hayes and Miyamoto 1984). The abdomen and underside of hind legs is characterized by a red or pinkish color, often set on a yellowish ground color (Stebbins 1985). Back is a brown, gray, olive, or reddish color, often with may small black flecks and irregular dark splotches, in some individuals forming a network of black lines (Stebbins 1985). Dorsolateral folds are prominent. Tadpoles range in length from 14 to 80 mm, and are a dark brown or olive, marked with darker spots (Storer 1925).
R. aurora differs from its close relative, the California red legged frog, R. draytonii in several ways. Adult R. draytonii are 35 to 40 millimeters longer than adult R. aurora (Hayes and Miyamoto 1984). The dorsal spots of R. draytonii are more numerous, and usually have light centers (Stebbins 1985). R. draytonii also has rougher skin, shorter limbs and smaller eyes than R. aurora (Stebbins 1985). R. draytonii has paired vocal sacs and typically calls from the air , while R. aurora lacks vocal sacks ( Hayes and Krempels 1986; Licht 1969). Egg masses in R. draytonii are deposited such that the mass floats at the surface (Hayes and Miyamoto 1984), whereas R. aurora submerge the mass in deeper water (Licht 1969; Storm 1960). R. draytonii breed from November to April (Storer 1925), while R. aurora breeds from January to March (Nussbaum et al 1983).
R. aurora differs from its close relative, the California red legged frog, R. draytonii in several ways. Adult R. draytonii are 35 to 40 millimeters longer than adult R. aurora (Hayes and Miyamoto 1984). The dorsal spots of R. draytonii are more numerous, and usually have light centers (Stebbins 1985). R. draytonii also has rougher skin, shorter limbs and smaller eyes than R. aurora (Stebbins 1985). R. draytonii has paired vocal sacs and typically calls from the air , while R. aurora lacks vocal sacks ( Hayes and Krempels 1986; Licht 1969). Egg masses in R. draytonii are deposited such that the mass floats at the surface (Hayes and Miyamoto 1984), whereas R. aurora submerge the mass in deeper water (Licht 1969; Storm 1960). R. draytonii breed from November to April (Storer 1925), while R. aurora breeds from January to March (Nussbaum et al 1983).
See other subspecies accounts at www.californiaherps.com: R. a. aurora and R. a. draytonii.
- Wright, A. H. and Wright, A. A. (1949). Handbook of Frogs and Toads of the United States and Canada. Comstock Publishing Company, Inc., Ithaca, New York.
- Stebbins, R. C. (1985). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
- Nussbaum, R. A., Brodie, E. D., Jr., and Storm, R. M. (1983). Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. University of Idaho Press, Moscow, Idaho.
- Storer, T. I. (1925). "A synopsis of the amphibia of California." University of California Publications in Zoology, 27, 1-342.
- Hayes, M. P. and Krempels, D.M. (1986). ''Vocal sac variation among frogs of the genus Rana from western North America.'' Copeia, 1986(4), 927-936.
- Hayes, M. P. and Miyamoto, M. M. (1984). ''Biochemical, behavioral and body size difference between Rana aurora aurora and R. a. draytonii.'' Copeia, 1984(4), 1018-1022.
- Hayes, M. P. and Tennant, M. R. (1985). ''Diet and feeding behavior of the California Red-legged Frog Rana aurora draytonii (Ranidae).'' The Southwestern Naturalist, 30(4), 601-605.
- Jennings, M. (1988). ''Natural history and decline of native ranids in California.'' Proceedings of the Conference on California Herpetology. H.F. DeLise, P.R. Brown, B. Kaufman, and B.M. McGurty, eds., Southwestern Herpetologists Society Special Publication, 1-143.
- Jennings, M.R. and Hayes, M.P. (1985). ''Pre-1900 overharvest of California Red-legged Frogs (Rana aurora draytonii):The inducement for bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) introduction.'' Herpetological Review, 31(1), 94-103.
- Jennings, M.R. and Hayes, M.P. (1990). ''Final report on the status of the California Red-Legged Frog in the Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve. Prepared for the California Department of Parks and Recreation under contract no. 4-823-9081 with the California Academy of Sciences.''
- Jennings, M.R., Hayes, M.P. and Holland, D.C. (1992). A petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to place the California Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora draytonii) and the Western Pond Turtle (Clemmys marmorata) on the list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants.
- Licht, L.E. (1969). ''Comparative breeding behavior of the Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora aurora) and the Western Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa pretiosa) in southwestern British Columbia.'' Canadian Journal of Zoology, 47(6), 1287-1299.
- Rathbun, G.B., and Murphy, T.G. (1996). ''Evaluation of a radio-belt for ranid frogs.'' Herpetological Review, 27(4), 197-199.
- Scott, N. and Rathbun, G. (1998). ''Essays provided to Ina Pisani in response to a working draft of California red-legged frog recovery plan.''
- Storm, R.M. (1960). ''Notes on the breeding biology of the Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora aurora).'' Herpetologica, 16, 251-259.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2002). Recovery Plan for the California Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora draytonii). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon.
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