Pickerel Frog
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[Photo] A Pickerel frog (R. palustris) on Mt. Welsh in the White Mountains, NH. Photograph by Aaron Sherman, (c) 2005.

The Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris, previously Rana palustris) is a small North American frog, characterized by the appearance of seemingly "hand-drawn" squares on their dorsal surface. All other leopard frogs have circular spots.

Distinguishing features
The spots of pickerel may blend together to form a long rectangle along the back. In addition, they have prominent dorsolateral ridges that are unbroken. A very distinguishing mark is the orange or yellow coloring found within the hind legs. The frog must be picked up to examine this as the legs cover the coloration otherwise. The Plains Leopard Frog (Lithobates blairi) exhibits this coloration as well, but the dorsolateral ridges are inset medially in this species.

Range
The pickerel ranges in the west from much of Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, eastern Iowa, through Missouri and down to eastern Texas. To the east they extend through northern Louisiana, most of Mississippi, northern Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina to the coast. Their northern range extends into Canada in the southern reaches of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The range is spotty through the midwestern states and a field guide should be obtained for the specifics on ranges in a particular area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickerel_Frog

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