AY Honors/Species Account/Lithobates sylvaticus

Lithobates sylvaticus

Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)

Description: This is the only frog found north of the Arctic Circle and is primarily terrestrial. They have an explosive breeding cycle, which means that all frogs head to the water and breed all at once in 1-2 days. They hibernate for the winter in dead logs, under piles of leaf matter or shallow burrows. They are freeze-tolerant; meaning their heart and breathing actually stop, and much of their body tissues freeze. When warmer weather come, the breathing and heart resume functioning and the frog wakes up from hibernation.