Definition

Noun: * rana catesbeiana: The largest frog native to North America. It is characterized by its highly aquatic nature and its distinctive deep-pitched, resonant call.

Usage Notes

• "Rana catesbeiana" is the formal, scientific (Latin) name for this species. In everyday English, it is almost exclusively called the bullfrog.
• The name is used in academic, scientific, and formal contexts such as biology, zoology, and environmental studies.
• It is a compound noun where "Rana" is the genus (a group of related frog species) and "catesbeiana" is the specific species name.

Examples

• Scientific Context:
  • The study focused on the habitat preferences of Rana catesbeiana.
  • The species Rana catesbeiana has been introduced to many regions outside its native range.
• Descriptive Context:
  • You can identify Rana catesbeiana by its large size and deep, jug-o-rum call.

Advanced Usage

• The name is used in binomial nomenclature, the formal system for naming species. The genus name () is always capitalized, while the species epithet () is not. The entire name is typically italicized in print.
  • Correct: Rana catesbeiana is an invasive species in the western United States.

Variants and Related Words

• Bullfrog (n.): The common name for .
  • We heard bullfrogs croaking by the pond all night.
• Lithobates catesbeianus (n.): A newer, alternative scientific classification for the same species, reclassifying it into the genus . Both names refer to the same animal.
  • Some herpetologists now refer to the bullfrog as Lithobates catesbeianus.

Synonyms

• Bullfrog: The standard, non-scientific synonym.

Different Meanings

• The word has only one specific meaning: it refers solely to this single species of frog. It does not have other general or figurative meanings in English.

Noun

1. largest North American frog; highly aquatic with a deep-pitched voice