CRYPTIC SPECIES OF SPOTTED FROGS, RANA-PRETIOSA COMPLEX, IN WESTERN NORTH-AMERICA

Two species of spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa complex) are discernable o n the basis of allozymes Adh, Fba, Iddh, Ldh-1, Mdh-1, and Mdhp. Frogs from the vicinity of the type locality of R. pretiosa were found to b e conspecific with the species residing in south-central Washington St ate and the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, Morphometric study of 20 char acters using multiple discriminant function analysis (MDA) showed that frogs from extreme southwestern British Columbia are also of this spe cies, These populations comprise R. pretiosa Baird and Girard, 1853 se nsu stricto (''Oregon spotted frog''), Spotted frog populations in the rest of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, as well as the Yuko n, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah comprise R. luteiventris Thompson, 1913 n. comb. (''Columbia spotted frog''). Four measurements of the head contribute the greatest weight to distinguishing the spec ies by MDA, but qualitative morphological distinctions usable as field characters have not been identified.