The southern cricket frog or southeastern cricket frog (''Acris gryllus'') is a small

hylid A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely rel ...

frog native to the Southeastern United States. It is very similar in appearance and habits to the northern cricket frog, '' Acris crepitans'', and was considered formerly conspecific (Dickerson 1906). The scientific name ''Acris'' is from the Greek word for locust, and the species name ''gryllus'' is Latin for

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 striki ...

(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

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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 areas 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

* Conant, Roger, ''et al.'' (1998). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. . * Dickerson, Mary C. (1906). ''The Frog Book''. New York: Doubleday, Page, and Company. * Georgia Museum of Natural History
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. . * Myers, P., ''et al.'

��accessed 15 May 2006 * United States Department of Agriculture
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
��accessed 15 May 2006

Southeast Ecological Science Center—accessed 15 May 2006 *

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2166333 Acris Amphibians of the United States Endemic fauna of the United States Fauna of the Southeastern United States Articles containing video clips Amphibians described in 1825