Friday, September 25, 2020,
This is a pair of Bullfrog portraits that I took at Frank Melville Park in Setauket. These are two different frogs. They were hanging out within eight inches of each other, so it made for some easy shooting. The second frog is about twenty percent larger than the frog above but because of the way I’ve cropped these photos, it may be difficult to tell. Not that it matters to the frogs. They’re both green, they’re both ensconced in Duckweed, and neither is dating Miss Piggy. Wins all around. JK.
JK
They are both beautiful — love that bright green coloring!
How can you tell their gender? Especially when they are steeping in duckweed?
The best way to discern the difference between male and female Bullfrogs is to compare the size of the tympanum to the size of the eye. The tympanum is what you and I would consider its eardrum. A male’s tympanum is larger than its eye, whereas a female’s tympanum is smaller or similar in size at her eye.
There are other differences between the two genders but they are not always readily seen. For instance, a male’s throat is yellowish while the female’s throat is white. Females tend to grow larger than males but that is not always helpful because one might be looking at a small or young female. JK.
It’s hard even to see the tympanum with all the duckweed. Good eye, Sir!
I just have more practice than you do. JK.
You certainly do — the only frogs I get to see are those you photograph. And I even had some peepers in the pond area of my yard, but whenever I’d try to spot them, they’d get quiet and stay hidden.
You may want to try placing a chair nearby and just waiting. Although that might be difficult with the hounds nearby. JK.