carpenter frog (Lithobates virgatipes)
The male frog has a narrow head, and the back is brownish with four yellowish or golden brown longitudinal stripes. The underparts are all yellowish with dark brown or black spots. The tail is grayish with a row of large spots in the upper crest. Pouches are paired, and spherical when inflated. This species breeds from April-August,and the egg mass is globular, 75-100 mm in diameter, and contains 200-600 eggs. This species spawns in the summer in standing water. The call is “pu-tunk, pu-tunk, pu-tunk”, sounding like carpenters pounding nails.
It occupies habitats with still water and an abundance of aquatic or emergent vegetation. This species has been observed in cypress ponds, interdunal swales, tupelo swamps, acid swamps, and canals and is associated with sphagnum mats and other vegetation in coffee-colored waters of pine savanna bogs or ponds.
This species forages on the ground and in herbaceous vegetation.