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| synonyms_ref = }} The American bullfrog (''Rana catesbeiana''), often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is an aquatic frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or “true frogs”. This frog has an olive green back and sides blotched with brownish markings and a whitish belly spotted with yellow or grey. The upper lip is often bright green and males have yellow throats. It inhabits large, permanent water bodies, such as swamps, ponds, and lakes, where it is usually found along the water's edge. The male bullfrog defends a territory during the breeding season. His call is reminiscent of the roar of a bull, which gives the frog its common name. This frog is native to southern and eastern parts of the United States and Canada, but has been widely introduced across other parts of North, Central and South America, Western Europe, and parts of Asia, and in some areas is regarded as an invasive species. The bullfrog is harvested for use as food in North America and in several countries into which it has been introduced. It is also cultured in controlled environments, though this is a difficult and not always successful undertaking. Some international trade in frog legs occurs for human consumption. Bullfrogs are used in biology classes in schools for dissection and are sometimes kept as pets. ==Taxonomy== Most authorities accept the scientific name, ''Rana catesbeiana'',〔〔 and this is the name used in scientific papers before 2006 and after 2008. Between 2006 and 2008 it was included in the genus ''Lithobates'' as ''Lithobates catesbeianus''.〔〔〔(''Lithobates catesbeianus'' ), USDA. Retrieved 2013-09-06〕 Mitochondrial DNA studies of New World species put ''Rana catesbeiana'' in the ''Aquarana'' subgenus of ''Rana'' and suggest this is a sister group to ''Rana sylvatica'', the wood frog. The data strongly supported the monophyly of the ''Aquarana'' grouping, which includes the green frog (''Rana clamitans'') and the Florida bog frog (''Rana okaloosae''), which appear to have recently diverged, and the closely related American bullfrog (''R. catesbeiana'') and river frog (''R. heckscheri'').〔 This placement was disputed by Darrel Frost and the American Museum of Natural History, who placed most of the North American ranids in the genus ''Lithobates''. His view is rejected by Bryan Stuart and Pauly et al. (2009)〔 and it is not accepted by AmphibiaWeb.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「American bullfrog」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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