Windwolf
Crex Meadows ... Wildlife on the Meadows ... Mink Frog
Mink Frog
Rana septentrionalis
The Mink frogs in Crex Meadows are near the southwestern extent of this species range. Its southern range extends eastward into the very northern New England states. Its southwestern range extends into the north central lakes region of Minnesota, with Mille Lacs bordering its very southern range. It is an exclusively north eastern frog.
The sex of the Mink frog can be determined by ear size. Males have ear spots larger than their eyes. Female Mink frogs ear spots are the same size or smaller than their eyes.
The Mink frogs we found this fall on Crex Meadows were all on Phantom Lake Road in the early morning. These mornings were very cold and the frogs moved very slowly. They are a medium to large sized frog and pretty easy to see on the road.
Mink frogs tend to remain in the water or very close to the waters edge. They like lilypads and other vegetation in their waters.
Picture above and to the right taken September 24, 2008 and are of the same frog.
The Mink frog is sometimes confused with a young Bullfrog or a Green frog. Young Bullfrogs tend to be green with only a few spots. Green frogs have banding on their legs where the Mink frog has blotches of brown on its legs. Spotting on the backs of Green frogs tends to be more spotted where the backs of the Mink frog markings tend to be more blotchy.
Some sites list the smell of the mink frog as rotting onion like. I have not used this method of specie determination up to this point in time.
Picture to the left taken September 24, 2008 and is the same frog as the above two pictures.
The picture on the right was taken October 8, 2008 again along Phantom Lake road. The lighting was better and this shot shows the leg blotching much clearer.
Both the Mink frog above and this one to the right appear to be females, based on their ear size.
The picture below is a larger version of the head on the frog on the right.
Mink Frog Taxonomy
| Kingdom: | Animalia | |
| Phylum: | Chordata | |
| Class: | Amphibia | Amphibians |
| Order: | Anura | frogs and toads |
| Family: | Ranidae | riparian frogs and true frogs |
| Genus: | Rana | true frogs |
| Species: | Rana septentrionalis | Mink frog |