This lesson was developed by
Dr. Ray Pierotti, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas. You can find additional resources for this lesson by clicking on these links: Name That Frog! on student website Sing Like A Frog on student website Amphibian and Reptile species on Friends of the Kaw's Critter Corner website
Kansas State Standards can be downloaded in Word format from our school standards Google Documents page.
Method: Students will compare the mating calls of closely related species of Leopard Frogs (Southern Leopard Frog, Lithobates sphenocephalus; Northern Leopard Frog, Lithobates pipiens; and Plains Leopard Frog, Lithobates blairi) in the Sing Like a Frog lesson. They will then discuss why mating calls are particularly good characteristics to distinguish between different species. Using the article in the New York Times that describes how scientists recently discovered a new species of Leopard Frog is an excellent example of science in action. In particular, the new species has been identified because it has a distinctly different mating call. Have students read the article in the New York Times and create a "name that frog" contest of their own. Here is some basic information about the frog from the New York Times "Name that frog" contest:
Have students look at the frogs and toads of the Kansas River corridor on the Name That Frog! webpage and suggest ways in which they are similar or different looking. Using the PowerPoint slide in the attachment section at the bottom of the page have students drag and drop the pictures next to the common and scientific names of each species. The Kansas Herp Atlas has species descriptions and audio files of the mating calls of each species. Here is a breakdown of how three of the common Leopard Frogs in our region were named. You can find translations of the scientific names of reptiles and amphibians at http://ebeltz.net/herps/etymain.html if you wish to expand this lesson. Plains Leopard Frog, Lithobates blairi (Mecham, Littlejohn, Oldham, Brown & Brown, 1973) Genus: Lithobates is Greek, Litho means "A stone", bates means "One that walks or haunts" Species: blairi "...in honor of W. Frank Blair because of his early suggestion that there were cryptic `Rana pipiens' species in the southwestern United States (a suggestion which lead directly to the discovery of R. blairi in Texas in 1963), and more generally in recognition of his contributions to our knowledge of the systematics and evolutionary biology of anurans." source Southern Leopard Frog, Lithobates sphenocephalus Genus: Lithobates is Greek, Litho means "A stone", bates means "One that walks or haunts" Species: sphenocephalus is Greek meaning "wedge headed" source Northern Leopard Frog, Lithobates pipiens (Schreber, 1782) Genus: Lithobates is Greek, Litho means "A stone," bates means "One that walks or haunts" Species: pipiens is Latin meaning "peeping" because the collector heard Spring Peepers, collected this species thinking that the loud whistle came from the larger frog (mistakes sometimes lead to odd names) source
Instructor will: Present in a lecture format an
explanation of the basic principals of biological taxonomy. The instructor will then use this information to lead a discussion on the common and scientific names of Kansas River frogs and toads to demonstrate the usefulness of scientific names for identifying closely related species and the difficulties of relying on common names for taxonomic purposes. Students will: Demonstrate an
understanding of basic biological taxonomy by correctly identifying problems with using common names (for example, the Plains Spadefoot and Plains Leopard Frogs are not closely related, but the Plains Leopard Frog and the Bullfrog are more closely related). Students will also be able to understand the process of how new species are named. Evaluation: The PowerPoint slide in the attachment section at the bottom of the page can be used to evaluate whether students are able to correctly identify species of frogs and toads found in the Kansas River corridor. Using a contest format for naming a new species, students can be evaluated as to whether they are able to describe characteristics that can be used to distinguish between species, and understand the process by which species are named. Lecture After going through the material in the taxonomy slideshow below, use the Kansas River Frogs and Toads slideshow to discuss whether scientific names or common names are better for identifying closely related species. You can also use the YouTubes in the Sing Like A Frog lesson to compare the mating calls of different species of Leopard Frogs (differences in mating calls were used to identify the new species in New York City).
References The Kansas Herp Atlas has species descriptions and audio files of the mating calls of each species of frog and toad in the state of Kansas http://webcat.fhsu.edu/ksfauna/herps/index.asp?page=species Translations of species names of Lithobates are from http://ebeltz.net/herps/etymain.html#FrogsandToads Classification of Plains Leopard Frog (this website is very helpful for providing information about classification and biology of many species) http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Lithobates_blairi.html New species of Leopard Frog in New York City http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790312000383 Students can use a free English to Latin conversion dictionary to suggest Latinate names for the new frog http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookdown.pl How do you pronounce scientific names: http://www.scientificlatin.org/botnamesay.html How to construct a scientific name in Latin http://www.scientificlatin.org/botnamemean.html What's the difference between a frog and a toad? http://kids.sandiegozoo.org/fantastic_frogs
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