Blanchard's Cricket Frog
Acris blanchardi
A small frog of about 0.6 – 1.5 in. It has moist, warty skin that is usually gray, tan, brown, or olive green with darker stripes on the thighs and legs. The patterns on…
How to identify
A small frog of about 0.6 – 1.5 in. It has moist, warty skin that is usually gray, tan, brown, or olive green with darker stripes on the thighs and legs. The patterns on the frog may vary, but most specimens have a dark triangle, on the head, between the eyes. Some frogs also have a medial stripe that can be green, brown, red or tan. The vocal sac takes on a darker color, sometimes tinged with yellow, during the mating/breeding season. They possess webbed hind feet with unobvious toe pads. The tadpoles are long and narrow with slim caudal fins with a black tail-tip which is believed to direct predators away from the body.
Range
This species of frog has been listed as endangered in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. They can be found in other USA states including Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas. Outside the United States, they can be found distributed in Canada and Mexico.
Habitat
They thrive in lakes, ponds, and many locales near streams and rivers; marshes, sedge meadows, fens, open mudflats, etc. The cricket frog cannot tolerate extreme cold weather and find burrows dug by other creatures to meet their required warmth. Breeding occurs from late May to early July then they lay 200-400 eggs attached to twigs or aquatic plants. The eggs hatch within a few days and the tadpoles metamorphose in 5 – 10 weeks but take 1 year to reach sexual maturity.
Similar species
Northern cricket frog or Acris crepitans was once the grouping which A. blanchard fell under. However, this frog has a distinct behavior and coloration. The typical A. crepitans has a white bar that runs from the eye to the base of the foreleg. Southern cricket frog or Acris gryllus is of similar size and general characteristics. But the A. gryllus can be differentiated, amongst other features, by the sharply-defined black stripe at the back of the thigh. More differences include the sharper snout and sparser webbed feet. Greenhouse frog or Eleutherodactylus planirostris is of similar size and can occur in similar skin colors. A major difference though is that E. planirostris has either two broad stripes down its back or has a mottled skin. It also has red eyes.
Name and etymology
Blanchardi: Honoring herpetologist Frank N. Blanchard.
More illustrations
With orange stripe
At a glance
Range
This species of frog has been listed as endangered in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. They can be found in other USA stat…
Habitat
They thrive in lakes, ponds, and many locales near streams and rivers; marshes, sedge meadows, fens, open mudflats, etc. The…
Guide
Reptiles and Amphibians of North America
Range map
Approximate range. © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap