Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog vs. Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog

Split on genetics in 2007. In the field the two are told apart by where they live. A: Mountains of southern California (San Gabriel, San Bernardino, San Jacinto) and the far southern Sierra, south of the Kern River drainage in the Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog; central and northern Sierra Nevada, north of the Kern River and the Kings-Kern Divide, to Plumas County and Mt. Rose (Nevada) in the Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog. B: A separate lineage in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (split 2.2 to 3.5 million years ago) in the Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog; its own lineage, with northern and central subgroups in the Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog. C: Longer: the heel joint, laid forward, reaches or passes the eye in the Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog; shorter: the heel joint rarely passes the front of the eye in the Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog. Leg length overlaps between individuals; range decides.

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

More comparisons

• Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog vs. California Red-legged Frog
• Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog vs. Foothill Yellow-legged Frog
• Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog vs. Foothill Yellow-legged Frog
• Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog vs. California Red-legged Frog
• Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog vs. American Bullfrog
• Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog vs. Cascades Frog

Wildsight identifies the reptiles and amphibians of the United States. Every comparison