Tadpole of California red-legged frog, Rana aurora draytonii, in duckweed, Lemna sp. Contra Costa County, California. Complete life cycle available, including eggs, tadpoles, metamorphs, froglets, and adults. Red-legged frogs were once abundant throughout California, and were the inspiration for Mark Twain's classic The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Now, after more than a century of habitat destruction, water pollution, suburban sprawl, and predation by non-native bullfrogs,...
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Tadpole of California red-legged frog, Rana aurora draytonii, in duckweed, Lemna sp. Contra Costa County, California. Complete life cycle available, including eggs, tadpoles, metamorphs, froglets, and adults. Red-legged frogs were once abundant throughout California, and were the inspiration for Mark Twain's classic The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Now, after more than a century of habitat destruction, water pollution, suburban sprawl, and predation by non-native bullfrogs, they've been reduced to a number of scattered, unconnected populations. Federally listed as a Threatened Species.
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