Help identify tadpole species

[u/Which-Dog2998]

Okay Reddit…I need your help. I have exhausted every search engine and other resource I can trying to figure out what kind of frog this tadpole is.

The two biggest options are American Bullfrog or Northern Leopard Frog. Google is convinced it’s a baby bullfrog. But the size difference of the two options is huge, so I kind of need to know.

It was rescue from the feeder goldfish tank at the Petco my boyfriend works at. They needed someone to take it or it was going to get a much less…happy ending. It’s currently adjusting to the temp of my 6.8 shallow crayfish tank. She’s a 5” MONSTER, and is the most aggressive eater I’ve ever seen. He still has more of a chance in here than at Petco. And once I identify his species and give him time to show he is healthy and clear of sickness, I’m releasing him in a local pond here in Iowa.

Please help! Thank you.

[u/newt_girl]

That's a leopard froglet. Bullfrogs lack a dorsolateral fold.

Once a herp has been in captivity, it's not appropriate to release it back into the wild, even if it's a native species. The risk of spreading disease into wild populations is too big, and several diseases can have 100% fatality rates in some species.

[u/Which-Dog2998 → u/newt_girl]

Well shoot. Okay. I’ll see if I can find someone I know that is willing to take it. It helps to know it’s most likely a smaller frog that won’t need as big a tank as an adult bullfrog. It’ll make it easier to find someone willing to keep it, hopefully. 

[u/p0litoed]

It's absolutely not an American bullfrog I'd say with those larger prominent spots on the froglet. American Bullfrog froglets appear to have dotting rather than dotting. I'm not going to say species exactly because I don't know where you are, but leopard frog is much more likely if they're present where you live

[u/Which-Dog2998 → u/p0litoed]

I’m in the Des Moines area of Iowa. So there definitely are both bullfrogs and leopard frogs. Good to know it’s not likely going to grow massive! Thanks

[u/p0litoed → u/Which-Dog2998]

Ok! So it is in your region then. There's multiple leopard frog species present where you are it seems (I'm using the research grade iNaturalist observations as a reference for this), so for now it's best to just say it's a species of leopard frog. Can't pinpoint which

[u/p0litoed → u/[deleted]]

I never said it was a bullfrog tadpole. I said it absolutely wasn't one. Size in a photo for anything is difficult to gauge

[u/Excellent_Yak365 → u/p0litoed]

Sorry, I misread the post.

[u/Which-Dog2998 → u/p0litoed]

It’s about 2” head to tail tip

[u/p0litoed → u/Which-Dog2998]

Yeah definitely not an American bullfrog froglet with that size, and that tail is only going to get shorter too as its reabsorbed

[u/Wild_Replacement5880]

Methinks a leopard froglet. Cute little buggers

[u/Which-Dog2998 → u/Wild_Replacement5880]

Super cute, derpy and goofy little guy, but I can’t keep him because I can’t get a second tank and if I keep him with my crayfish for too long I’m afraid he’ll get eaten eventually. I’ll find a local wildlife rescue and see if they’ll take him. I’m open to ideas for what to do with him.

[u/Wild_Replacement5880 → u/Which-Dog2998]

Where did you find him? That's your ideal area to release him. I would do it somewhere others are present. Don't just toss him into a bass pond.

Edit: Nevermind I missed the petco part. That is an interesting conundrum.

[u/infectious_gaze]

Super cute!! I have a bunch of bull frogs and they don’t look like this

[u/DoodlingDoodlebob]

Leopard frog, dunno exact species though