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Acris crepitans Harper, 1947

Blanchards cricket frog; Northern cricket frog; Coastal cricket frog

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Acris crepitans
© Copyright Andrew Durso, 2005
Acris crepitans
Acris crepitans
© Copyright Andrew Durso, 2005
Acris crepitans

Acris crepitans
© JD Willson, 2006
Acris crepitans
Acris crepitans
© JD Willson, 2006
Acris crepitans

Acris crepitans, in hand
© JD Willson, 2006
Acris crepitans, in hand
Acris crepitans, thighs
© JD Willson, 2006
Acris crepitans, thighs

Acris crepitans, toes
© JD Willson, 2006
Acris crepitans, toes

Identification
According to J.D. Willson at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Acris crepitans and Acris gryllus can be quite difficult to tell apart in the field. The most certain way to tell them apart for sure is by their calls. If a frog is from well up into the Piedmont or mountains, it is quite safe to call it A. crepitans. If it is close the the fault line, be tentative about an identification that is not based on hearing calls.

Names
Scientific source:
      Integrated Taxonomic Information System


Following served from Austin City Connection
   
Top | See original context

Following modified from The Frogs &Toads of Georgia
   
Top | See original


Northern Cricket Frogs - Acris crepitans

  • Diagnostic Features:
    • Size: 0.5 to 1.5 inches (16 to 35 mm)
    • Color:
      • Gray-brown, with black, green, or yellow
    • Other:
      • Small frog with blunt head
      • Ragged dark stripe on rear of thigh
      • Pair of prominent, subanal, white tubercles
      • Characteristic triangle on top of the head pointing backward
      • Short hind legs when brought forward, heal of leg will not reach snout
      • Extensively webbed toes, 1st toe completely webbed, only 1 1/2 to 2 joints of 4th (longest) toe free of webbing.
      • White line from eye to the base of the foreleg
      • Differes from the Southern Cricket Frog by having a more robust build, more webbing between the toes, a less sharply defined dark stripe on the back of the thigh and a pair of proment, subanal, white tubercles.
  • Natural History:
    • Habitat:
      • Prefer margins of shallow ponds, ditches or marshy areas with vegetation and full sun.
    • Behavior:
      • These frogs are diurnal and active all year. They can be seen basking in the sunlight. When threatened, they will jump quickly away or into the water. A poorer jumper than the Southern Cricket Frog
    • Breeding:
      • April - July
      • Breed in warm weather in shallow water
      • Eggs are laid singly or in small groups attached to stems or scattered on the bottom
  • Voice: Sonogram - Call ( White, Lamar, Butts, & Monroe Counties ) Spring Peepers , Fowler's Toads , Cope's Gray Treefrogs & Green/Bronze Frogs in background
    • Sharp tinkley click
    • Repetitive sharp clicking call, similar to that made by clicking small stones together
    • Speed of call begins at about one click per second, then increases and continues for 20-30 beats. A chorus slowly builds into a unified galloping sound.
  • Tadpoles:
    • Normally a distinctive black tail tip
    • Transformed size: 14 mm
    • Transformation in late summer
    • LTRF 2/2; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes dorsal
    • spiracular tube short, not projecting as tube free from body wall; often dark band across chest; summer breeder, most commonly along edges of permanent lentic or slow-flowing lotic sites from Atlantic Ocean to eastern Colorado and New Mexico and north to central Wisconsin
  • Range:
    • In North America, this species has a broad range extending through most of the Southern and Midwestern United States. Range shown is that of the Eastern subspecies - Acris crepitans crepitans
    • In Georgia, they are found throughout most of the state, more common in the north.

    • In Light Blue : Williamson, Gerald K. & Moulis, Robert A., Distribution of Amphibians and Reptiles in Georgia, Special Publication No. 3, Savannah Science Museum, Inc. Savannah, Georgia, 1994.
      Museum specimens
    • In Pale Blue : Williamson, Gerald K. & Moulis, Robert A., Distribution of Amphibians and Reptiles in Georgia, Special Publication No. 3, Savannah Science Museum, Inc. Savannah, Georgia, 1994
      Literature only, no museum specimens.
    • In Green : Sound Recordings
    • In Yellow : From Both '94 study and Sound Recordings
    • In Magenta : Photograph, not found by '94, may or may not be sound record
    • In Medium Blue : Photograph and in '94 study, may or may not be sound record 
    • In Orange : County Record by other Herp Atlas Volunteers
    • In Red : US Distribution from various sources

May 25, 2008 - wwknapp@mindspring.com

Following modified from Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
   Top | See original


Checklist of Amphibian Species and Identification Guide

Northern Cricket Frog, Acris crepitans


Blanchard Blanchard Blanchard

Northern Cricket Frogs are small warty skinned frogs reaching maximum lengths of around 1 1/2 inches. All Cricket Frogs ( Acris ) are characterized by a triangle on their head between their eyes, so this is not a useful characteristic for distinguishing the different species and subspecies among them. Even some Chorus Frogs ( Pseudacris ) tend to have a dark triangle between the eyes. There are three subspecies of the Northern Cricket Frog ( Acris crepitans ):

Blanchard's Cricket Frog , A. c. blanchardi
Eastern Cricket Frog , A. c. crepitans
Coastal Cricket Frog , A. c. paludicola

Note that in most field guides the subspecies referred to here as the "Eastern" Cricket Frog is usually called the "Northern". This change follows Crother (2000), where it is suggested that names be standardized in a manner that gives the species a common name that is different from its subspecies' common names. These photos are all Blanchard's Cricket Frog.

Blanchard Blanchard

Thes photos are of the Eastern Cricket Frog, Acris crepitans crepitans .
Northern Cricket Frog Northern Cricket Frog Northern Cricket Frog
Cricket Frog Ranges

Reference:

Crother B.I. (ed.) 2000. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and
Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence

in Our Understanding. SSAR Herpetological Circular 29. iii + 82 pp.

This publication may be purchased from the
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR).


Notice:   All images contained hereafter are the property of the said photographer. They are not to be reproduced, copied, printed, stored, or distributed without written permission of the photographer .


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Take Pride in America home page. FirstGov button U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/herps/amphibid/species/crepitan.htm
Page Contact Information: npwrc@usgs.gov
Page Last Modified: August 3, 2006


Following served from USGS National Amphibian Atlas
   
Top | See original context

Following modified from CalPhotos
   
Top | See original


CalPhotos     Photo Database

 

Number of matches : 8
Query: SELECT * FROM img WHERE ready=1 and taxon like "Acris crepitans crepitans%" and (lifeform != "specimen_tag" OR lifeform != "Animal") ORDER BY taxon

Click on the thumbnail to see an enlargement

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Eastern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0902 0249 [detail]
© 2002 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0403 0118 [detail]
© 2003 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0401 0016 [detail]
© 2001 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0401 0015 [detail]
© 2001 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog Egg Mass
ID: 0000 0000 0702 0079 [detail]
© 2002 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Eastern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0902 0248 [detail]
© 2002 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0505 0894 [detail]
© 2005 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0707 0632 [detail]
© 2007 Nathan Nazdrowicz

Using these photos: A variety of organizations and individuals have contributed photographs to CalPhotos. Please follow the usage guidelines provided with each image. Use and copyright information, as well as other details about the photo such as the date and the location, are available by clicking on the [detail] link under the thumbnail. See also: Using the Photos in CalPhotos .   


Copyright © 1995-2010 UC Regents. All rights reserved.

CalPhotos is a project of BSCIT     University of California, Berkeley

Following modified from CalPhotos
   Top | See original


CalPhotos     Photo Database

 

Number of matches : 24
Query: SELECT * FROM img WHERE ready=1 and taxon like "Acris crepitans%" and (lifeform != "specimen_tag" OR lifeform != "Animal") ORDER BY taxon

Click on the thumbnail to see an enlargement

Acris crepitans
UCMP specimen card
ID: 2222 0904 0021 0021 [detail]
© University of California Museum of Paleontology

Acris crepitans
UCMP specimen card
ID: 2222 0904 0021 0022 [detail]
© University of California Museum of Paleontology

Acris crepitans
UCMP specimen card
ID: 2222 0904 0021 0023 [detail]
© University of California Museum of Paleontology

Acris crepitans
UCMP specimen card
ID: 2222 0904 0021 0024 [detail]
© University of California Museum of Paleontology

Acris crepitans
UCMP specimen card
ID: 2222 0904 0021 0025 [detail]
© University of California Museum of Paleontology

Acris crepitans
UCMP specimen card
ID: 2222 0904 0021 0026 [detail]
© University of California Museum of Paleontology

Acris crepitans
UCMP specimen card
ID: 2222 0904 0021 0027 [detail]
© University of California Museum of Paleontology

Acris crepitans
UCMP specimen card
ID: 2222 0904 0021 0028 [detail]
© University of California Museum of Paleontology

Acris crepitans
UCMP specimen card
ID: 2222 0904 0021 0029 [detail]
© University of California Museum of Paleontology

Acris crepitans
Acris crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0709 1166 [detail]
© 2009 John P. Clare

Acris crepitans
Acris crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0909 2120 [detail]
© 2009 James W. Beck

Acris crepitans
Acris crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0909 2121 [detail]
© 2009 James W. Beck

Acris crepitans blanchardi
Acris crepitans blanchardi
Blanchard's Cricket Frog (tadpole)
ID: 1111 1111 1111 8309 [detail]
© 2009 James H. Harding

Acris crepitans blanchardi
Acris crepitans blanchardi
Blanchard's Cricket Frog
ID: 1111 1111 1111 8310 [detail]
© 2009 James H. Harding

Acris crepitans blanchardi
Acris crepitans blanchardi
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0609 1551 [detail]
© 2009 Gonçalo M. Rosa

Acris crepitans blanchardi
Acris crepitans blanchardi
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 1111 1111 1111 8785 [detail]
© 2009 Gonçalo M. Rosa

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Eastern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0902 0249 [detail]
© 2002 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0403 0118 [detail]
© 2003 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0401 0016 [detail]
© 2001 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0401 0015 [detail]
© 2001 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog Egg Mass
ID: 0000 0000 0702 0079 [detail]
© 2002 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Eastern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0902 0248 [detail]
© 2002 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0505 0894 [detail]
© 2005 John White

Acris crepitans crepitans
Acris crepitans crepitans
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0707 0632 [detail]
© 2007 Nathan Nazdrowicz

Using these photos: A variety of organizations and individuals have contributed photographs to CalPhotos. Please follow the usage guidelines provided with each image. Use and copyright information, as well as other details about the photo such as the date and the location, are available by clicking on the [detail] link under the thumbnail. See also: Using the Photos in CalPhotos .   


Copyright © 1995-2010 UC Regents. All rights reserved.

CalPhotos is a project of BSCIT     University of California, Berkeley

Following modified from CalPhotos
   Top | See original


CalPhotos     Photo Database

 

Number of matches : 4
Query: SELECT * FROM img WHERE ready=1 and taxon like "Acris crepitans blanchardi%" and (lifeform != "specimen_tag" OR lifeform != "Animal") ORDER BY taxon

Click on the thumbnail to see an enlargement

Acris crepitans blanchardi
Acris crepitans blanchardi
Blanchard's Cricket Frog (tadpole)
ID: 1111 1111 1111 8309 [detail]
© 2009 James H. Harding

Acris crepitans blanchardi
Acris crepitans blanchardi
Blanchard's Cricket Frog
ID: 1111 1111 1111 8310 [detail]
© 2009 James H. Harding

Acris crepitans blanchardi
Acris crepitans blanchardi
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 0000 0000 0609 1551 [detail]
© 2009 Gonçalo M. Rosa

Acris crepitans blanchardi
Acris crepitans blanchardi
Northern Cricket Frog
ID: 1111 1111 1111 8785 [detail]
© 2009 Gonçalo M. Rosa

Using these photos: A variety of organizations and individuals have contributed photographs to CalPhotos. Please follow the usage guidelines provided with each image. Use and copyright information, as well as other details about the photo such as the date and the location, are available by clicking on the [detail] link under the thumbnail. See also: Using the Photos in CalPhotos .   


Copyright © 1995-2010 UC Regents. All rights reserved.

CalPhotos is a project of BSCIT     University of California, Berkeley

Updated: 2010-02-10 01:37:44 gmt
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