A Ribbeting Tale

A famous frog-hopping contest yields data that challenge previous lab estimates of how far a bullfrog can jump.

Written byJef Akst

| 3 min read

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ANDRZEJ KRAUZE

While perusing the Guinness Book of World Records with his son a few years ago, biomechanics researcher Thomas Roberts of Brown University stumbled upon an entry regarding Rosie the Ribeter [sic], a competitor in the 1986 Calaveras County Jumping Frog Jubilee. That year, Rosie, a bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeiana), leapt 6.55 meters (21 feet, 5.75 inches) in a three-jump series, averaging 2.18 meters per jump. Not only did the impressive leaps constitute a world record, they obliterated the official upper limit of bullfrog jump length, or maximal performance, published in the scientific literature (usually around 1 m or less, with one report of 1.3 m), and the comparable data Roberts and his students were collecting in his lab.

“When we saw this record in the Guinness ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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