Burrowed and in Trouble: The Crawfish Frog’s Hidden Fight for Survival

Crayfish frog, Lithobates areolatus, a large frog of the central and southern United States, that spends most of its life in the burrows of large crayfishes.
Mike Redmer/Shutterstock.com

Written by Stephanie Manka

Published: May 6, 2025

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Crawfish frogs (Lithobates areolatus) were once common throughout the central and southern United States, but are now in decline in some of their range. The reasons aren’t completely known, but some scientists are working to change this.

What is a crawfish frog?

Crawfish frogs are softball-sized frogs with large heads, gray to brown in color, and spotted. Their dark spots of various sizes are outlined in lighter shades of white to gold, sometimes with striking contrast, giving them a giraffe-like pattern. Native to prairies and grasslands, this species gets its name from living in empty crawfish (also called crayfish or crawdad) burrows, although at times it may use burrows created by other animals. 

Crayfish frog, Lithobates areolatus, a large frog of the central and southern United States, that spends most of its life in the burrows of large crayfishes.

The dark spots of crawfish frogs are outlined in shades of white to gold, sometimes creating great contrast.

Their burrowing behavior makes them difficult to study as they are often underground at depths up to three to five feet deep, where they can still access the water table to maintain their moisture levels, but avoid extreme hot or cold temperatures outside. As ambush predators, crawfish frogs sit outside their burrow entrance when they are ready to feed and wait for passing insects, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, and even small crawfish to walk by before they strike. 

Crawfish hole chimney in ground crayfish burrow mud tunnel nature crustacean.

Crawfish frogs inhabit burrows created by crawfish (also called crayfish or crawdads) like this one.

Crawfish frogs are more likely to be heard than seen. During a couple of weeks in February until April, crawfish frogs leave their burrows and travel to breeding ponds, which can be over half a mile away, to mate and lay eggs. Males gather in large numbers in river floodplains, ponds, and lakes to attract females by producing loud, deep snore-like vocalizations. These collective callings can be heard from up to two miles away, and some report that they sound like pigs during feeding time or distant speedways. After mating, females deposit eggs in shallow waters, and within two weeks, the eggs hatch.

Why are crawfish frogs in decline?

Crawfish frogs have suffered from massive habitat loss due to the historical large-scale conversion of prairies across the United States into agriculture, in addition to more conversions from urbanization, highway construction, and surface mining. However, for some populations, the habitat remains intact, yet the species is still in decline, making the reasons unknown.

Illinois Prairie Flowers in Bloom

Crawfish frogs live in prairie and grassland habitats, which are some of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States.

There may be a couple of factors at play. For one, crawfish frog tadpoles are not able to compete as well with other frog species and they are heavily preyed on by fish. They also seem to easily move to newly created ponds and areas burned by fire, which may indicate their need for disturbance and recently established wetland sites. These sites would be free of fish, and competition with other frog species would be low. Historically, such sites were partly created through trampling, causing depressions in soils from the presence of large mammals like bison and elk, but these species are now extirpated throughout most of their range. Wetlands formed under these circumstances dry up in the fall,l making it difficult for predatory fish to establish populations. 

How are crawfish frogs being saved?

In Indiana, where the crawfish frog is listed as an endangered species, only small, isolated populations of crawfish frogs remain. The Department of Natural Resources’ state herpetologist Nathan Engbrecht and assistant Jason Mirtl are part of a larger team working to establish new populations by physically moving crawfish frog eggs from one area to another. In areas matching the habitat requirements of this species, they carry eggs in, place them on top of the water’s surface, and surround them with a wire cage for protection against predators. Weeks later, after the tadpoles hatch, they come back and remove the cages. The team knows their efforts will have been a success when crawfish frogs begin mating and laying their eggs on their own.

A herd of plains bison with a baby calf in a pasture in Saskatchewan, Canada

Herds of bison used to range over grassland areas. Their presence created shallow depressions in the soil where small pools could form for crawfish frogs to breed without fish predators.

As crawfish frogs are innately tied to prairies and grasslands, protecting existing habitat and restoring others where possible are key to protecting this species. This requires the consideration of the habitats within the larger habitat they occupy. For this species to persist, managers must ensure the presence of crawfish burrows within grassland areas where the frogs spend most of their time and effective breeding sites, which may require the formation of new small ponds to ensure that tadpoles are safe from predation. 


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About the Author

Stephanie Manka

Stephanie Manka is a writer at A-Z Animals where her primary focus is on wildlife conservation. Stephanie holds a Ph.D. in biological sciences where she specialized in the social behavior and genetics of African forest elephants. Stephanie has been working in the wildlife field since 2003 and writing about animals, her research, and nature for nearly 20 years. A current resident in the Chicago suburbs and Illinois Master Naturalist, Stephanie enjoys exploring local biodiversity with her dogs, making videos of her findings, and cooking delicious vegan food.

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