New County Records and Other Data Since 1996
Rana sylvatica Le Conte - Wood Frog
Since publication of Atlas of Amphibians in Tennessee (Redmond, W. H. and A. F. Scott. 1996. The Center for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN. 94 pp.), several applicable taxonomic and nomenclatural changes and numerous reports of new county records have appeared in the literature. Comments, accompanied by cited references, on the taxonomic and nomenclatural changes plus an updated distribution map and bibliographical information on new county records as they pertain to Rana sylvatica follow:
Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Changes
The genus Rana was split by Frost et al. (2006), and all eastern North American ranid species placed in the genus Lithobates. In the latest list of scientific and standard English names of the frogs of North America north of Mexico (Frost et al. 2017), the binomial for the Southern Leopard Frog is given as Lithobates sylvaticus.
Literature Cited:Frost, D. R., T. Grant, J.Faivovich, R. H. Bain, A. Haas, C. F. B. Haddad, R. O. De S�, A. Channing, M. Wilkinson, S. C. Donnellan, C. J. Raxworthy, J. A. Campbell, B. L. Blotto, P. Moler, R. C. Drewes, R. A. Nussbaum, J. D. Lynch, D. M.. Green, W. C. Wheeler. 2006. The amphibian tree of life. Bulletin of the American Museum of natural History 297: 1�370.
Frost, D. R., E. M. Lemmon, R. W. McDiarmid, and J. R. Mendelson III. 2017. Anura: Frogs. IN B. I. Crother (ed.), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North American North of Mexico, With Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-102.
Updated Distribution Map
(Click on the Map for an Enlarged View)
Literature Containing New County Records
Anderson County
Anonymous. No date. Frogs of Anderson County, TN. Clinch River Environmental
Studies Organization (CRESO). 8 pp.
Although not stated in this
publication, this is the first published report of the occurrence of
Lithobates sylvatica in Anderson
County, TN.
Cannon County
Corser, J. D. 2008. The Cumberland Plateau disjunct paradox and the biogeography and conservation of pond-breeding amphibians. American Midland Naturalist 159:498-503.
Claiborne County
Daniels, S. D., S. A. Dykes and R. L. P. Wyatt. 2012. New amphibian and reptile county records for eight counties in East Tennessee, USA. Herpetol. Rev. 43:313-315.
Grundy County
Samoray, S. T. and K. J. Regester. 2001. Geographic distribution: Rana sylvatica. Herpetol. Rev. 32: 190-191.
Houston and Humphreys Counties
Ennen, J. and N. Parker. 2004. Geographic distribution: Rana sylvatica. Herpetol. Rev. 35:407.
Jackson County
Nanjappa, P. and L. Leininger. 2000. Geographic distribution: Rana sylvatica. Herpetol. Rev. 31:51.
Knox County
Jacobi, C. B., C. Frost, and M. J. Gray. 2018. Geographic distribution. Lithobates sylvaticus. Herpetological Review 49:282.
Marion County
Corser, J. D. 2008. The Cumberland Plateau disjunct paradox and the biogeography and conservation of pond-breeding amphibians. American Midland Naturalist 159:498-503.
Pickett and Scott Counties
Campbell, T. S. 2002. New records for amphibians in the Big South Fork region of Tennessee. Herpetol. Rev. 33:230-231.
Union County
Thurman, W. M., J. R. Ennen, and J. M. Davenport. 2006. Geographic distribution: Rana sylvatica. Herpetol. Rev. 37:490.
Van Buren County
Brown, M. L. 2009. Geographic distribution: Lithobates sylvaticus. Herpetol. Rev. 40:362.