Acris gryllus

Taxobox
name = Southern Cricket Frog
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = stable


regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Amphibia
ordo = Anura
familia = Hylidae
genus = "Acris"
species = "A. gryllus"
binomial = "Acris gryllus"
binomial_authority = LeConte, 1825

The Southern cricket frog ("Acris gryllus") is a small Hylid frog native to the Southeastern United States. It is very similar in appearance and habits to the Northern cricket frog, "Acris crepitans", and was formerly conspecific (Dickerson 1906). The scientific name "Acris" is from the Greek word for locust, and the species name "gryllus" is Latin for cricket (Georgia Wildlife).

Description

At 0.75-1.5 inches (16-32 mm) in length, "Acris gryllus" is even smaller than "A. crepitans". Other characters that differentiate the southern species are:
*More pointed snout--"A. crepitans" more blunt.
*Hind leg is more than half length of the body when folded--that of "A. crepitans" is less than one half body length. When rear leg is extended forward, the heel of "A. gryllus" usually reaches beyond the snout--does not reach snout in "A. crepitans".
*"A. gryllus" can jump longer distances than "A. crepitans".
*"A. gryllus" has a sharply-defined black stripe on the back of the thigh--"A. crepitans" has a ragged stripe.
*Webbing on rear feet of "A. gryllus" is sparse, more extensive in "A. crepitans".

Range and habitat

The Southern cricket frog is characteristic of Coastal Plain bogs, bottomland swamps, ponds, and ditches. It prefers sunny areas, and is usually not found in woodlands. Subspecies "Acris gryllus gryllus" is found in the Atlantic Coastal Plain from southeastern Virginia through the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, west to the Mississippi River. It is found mostly east of the fall line, but extends into more upland ares of the Piedmont along river valleys. Subspecies "Acris gryllus dorsalis" is found throughout the Florida peninsula.

Habits

The Southern cricket frog feeds on insects, spiders, and other arthropods. It is active throughout the year in warm weather.

Reproduction

Breeding is in late spring and summer. The advertisement call of the males is a loud rapid "gick, gick, gick". Up to 150 eggs are laid at a time, and more than one mass may be produced in a season (Martof "et al." 1980).

Subspecies

* "Acris gryllus dorsalis" (Harlan, 1827) -- Florida Cricket Frog
* "Acris gryllus gryllus" (LeConte, 1825) -- Coastal Plain Cricket Frog, Southern Cricket Frog

References

* Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern

* Conant, Roger, "et al." (1998). "A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America". Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-90452-8.
* Dickerson, Mary C. (1906). "The Frog Book". New York: Doubleday, Page, and Company.
* Georgia Museum of Natural History. [http://museum.nhm.uga.edu/gawildlife/amphibians/anura/hylidae/agryllus.html Georgia Wildlife] --accessed 15 May 2006
* Martof, Bernard S., "et al." (1980). "Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia". Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4252-4.
* Myers, P., "et al." [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Acris_gryllus.html The Animal Diversity Web] --accessed 15 May 2006
* United States Department of Agriculture, [http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=173518 Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)] --accessed 15 May 2006
* [http://cars.er.usgs.gov/herps/Frogs_and_Toads/A_gryllus/a_gryllus.html United States Geological Survey (USGS)] , Florida Integrated Science Center--accessed 15 May 2006