Cricket frogs, genus ''Acris'', are small, North American

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s of the family

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and ...

. They occur in northern Mexico ( Coahuila), the United States east of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

, and in southern Ontario, Canada. They are more aquatic than other members of the family, and are generally associated with permanent bodies of water with surface vegetation. This is a quite important aspect of their survival, as adult cricket frogs suffer high mortality rates when submerged in poorly oxygenated water (typically less than 24 hours on average in water that is ~1.2 mg/L). The common and scientific names refer to their call, which resembles that of a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

. The two common species are ''A. crepitans'' and ''A. gryllus''. ''A. crepitans'' are found in mesic woodlands as well as xeric grasslands, whereas ''A. gryllus'' are concentrated in mesic woodlands. Cricket frogs are able to communicate and attract each other using a specific frequency of their mating call, that sounds like a cricket. It can only be heard by members of the same population. Cricket frogs from other locales are unable to aurally process other calls, leading to mating isolation among the species.

Species

There are three species: * '' Acris blanchardi'' Harper, 1947 –

Blanchard's cricket frog Blanchard's cricket frog (''Acris blanchardi'') is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is a small, dark colored frog that is threatened or endangered in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Studies have been done to see why the population ...

* '' Acris crepitans'' Baird, 1854 – northern cricket frog * '' Acris gryllus'' (LeConte, 1825) – southern cricket frog

References

* taxo
''Acris''
at http://www.eol.org.

External links

Hylidae Amphibian genera Frogs of North America Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril {{Hylidae-stub