American Bullfrog

​Identification:

The American Bullfrog is Kentucky’s largest frog (adults can grow to 8 inches in body length!) and is the only true frog in our state that lacks dorsolateral folds. Bullfrogs are tan to brown or greenish; in bright sunlight, a bullfrog often has a bright green head. Many large adults have numerous brown spots on the body, forming a mottled or reticulated pattern.

American bullfrogs call from late April into September. As in Green Frogs, male Bullfrogs have very large eardrums (compared to females), and the breeding males have yellowish throats. American Bullfrogs occur in every Kentucky county and are always found close to permanent water. Favored habitats include large ponds, lakes, swamps, wetlands, and slow-moving sections of rivers and streams. The eggs are laid as a large, frothy surface film in ponds, stream pools, backwaters, and wetlands. The call is a series of deep, resonant bass notes; no other Kentucky frog has such a deep voice.