Powerful back legs allow for a quick escape from predators. Any moving prey that they can physically swallow- from frogs, mice, and small turtles to insects and other invertebrates. June through August in this area. They stake out territories with a lot of underwater plants. The females are lured to these sites by the males calling to them.
Resident males wrestle with intruders and try to gouge their opponent with their thumbs.
Then they try to pin the other underwater for a few minutes. Satellite males try to intercept females that are attracted to the resident male's territory. Sometimes they succeed, or sometimes they take over the resident male's territory while the resident is busy mating. When a female chooses her mate she approaches and touches him with a leg or nose. Then the male clasps onto her and they move away to deposit and fertilize the eggs.