Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog

The frogs' coloring ranges from mint-gray to light olive green, and brown spots distribute irregularly across their backs and legs. Dark snout lines run along their heads. They have large eyes and strong legs used for leaping. Coloring has been observed to change between day and night as well as with the seasons, with many individuals taking nocturnal darker tones and diurnal lighter hues. Adult males have large vocal sacs on either side of the head which are used to produce a mating call. Distinguishing between Atlantic Coast leopard frogs and Southern leopard frogs is difficult. Key features that differentiate the Atlantic Coast leopard frog from the Southern leopard frog include the lack of a white spot on the tympanum, a femoral reticulum (inner thigh) that is primarily dark with unconnected light patches, a blunter snout, and duller coloration. However, there is significant overlap in these traits between the species and no single morphological trait can reliably differentiate the two. Mating call is the most reliable distinguishing feature of the Atlantic Coast leopard frog. The Atlantic Coast leopard frog's call is a single and distinct "chuck" sound rather than the repeated "ak-ak-ak" of the Southern leopard frog or the "snore" of a Northern leopard frog.

L. kauffeldi is found in nine states along the northeastern coast of the United States, from central Connecticut to northeastern North Carolina. The north-south range is approximately 780 km long, and the width is about 100 km from the Atlantic shoreline inward. The range narrows as it progressed southward, mostly along the I-95 corridor. It is thought to be extirpated from most of Connecticut, the Hudson Valley, and Long Island. The Atlantic Coast leopard frog is sympatric with the northern leopard frog in Connecticut and the southern leopard frog from New Jersey through North Carolina. It apparently hybridizes with these species where they come into contact. For a time the species remained undiscovered because of its similarity to both of the aforementioned in physical appearance and habitat.

The Atlantic Coast leopard frog is one of several species of leopard frogs. Its species name, kauffeldi, is derived from the name of Staten Island herpetologist Carl Frederick Kauffeld, who in 1936 proposed that there could be a third species of leopard frog inhabiting the New York metropolitan area, specifically Staten Island. The author team that described the species in 2014 christened it after Kauffeld in honor of him.