Animal
Wood frog
Lithobates sylvaticus
A small (1.5–3 inch) brown frog famous for surviving winter freezing — wood frogs can freeze solid (heart, brain, blood — all frozen) and thaw back to full function each spring. Vernal-pool breeders; among the earliest amphibians to call in spring (often in February in mild years). Found on Staten Island in the Greenbelt, where intact vernal pools support populations.
Scientific
Lithobates sylvaticus is a 1.5–3 inch true frog (Ranidae) with a distinctive “robber’s mask” — a dark line running through the eye. Notable for cryoprotectant physiology — the species can freeze solid in winter (heart stops, blood crystallizes) and survive by producing high concentrations of glucose that protect cell structures during freezing. Thawed individuals resume normal function within hours.
Vernal-pool breeders. Among the earliest amphibians to begin calling in spring — often as early as late February in the Northeast. The species’ duck-like quack call is distinctive.
Range extends farther north than any other North American amphibian — wood frogs occur above the Arctic Circle in Alaska, surviving freezing winters that would kill almost any other vertebrate.
On Staten Island
Present in the Greenbelt’s vernal-pool network. Spring-calling choruses begin earlier than spring peepers in mild years. Tadpoles develop alongside [[spotted-salamander|spotted salamander]] larvae in the same fishless pools.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Counterpart to: [[spotted-salamander]]
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- [[beacon-ny|New York]] State DEC amphibian records
- USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative
- Long-term wood-frog cryoprotectant research
Rooted in life.
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