The northern cricket frog (Acris crepitans ) is a species of small hylid frog native to the United States and northeastern Mexico. Despite being members of the tree frog family, they are not arboreal. It has two recognized subspecies.
Diurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Jumping (saltation) can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively l...
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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starts withThe northern cricket frog is one of North America's three smallest vertebrates, ranging from 19–38 mm (0.75–1.50 in) long. Its dorsal coloration varies widely, and includes greys, greens, and browns, often in irregular blotching patterns. One New York biologist has identified six distinct color morphs and four pattern morphs, and several intergrades between these. Typically there is dark banding on the legs and a white bar from the eye to the base of the foreleg. The skin has a bumpy texture. It is very similar to the southern cricket frog, Acris gryllus, found in the US Southeastern Coastal Plain, but with some overlap along the Fall Line. The southern cricket frog has longer legs, with less webbing on the hind feet, and a more pointed snout, though northern cricket frogs have been observed with snouts indistinguishable from those of the southern species, and the markings on the back of the thigh are typically more sharply defined than that of the northern cricket frog, though biologists have recorded northern cricket frogs in the northern fringes of their range with extremely sharp posterior leg stripes.
Cricket frogs prefer the edges of slow-moving, permanent bodies of water. They prefer open, shallow waters with an abundance of aquatic vegetation. Large groups of them can often be found together along the muddy banks of shallow streams, especially during pre-migratory clustering. The northern cricket frog has been observed to hibernate upland, often at considerable distances from water. Given their small size and their large surface to volume ratio, it comes as no surprise that this species utilize microhabitats. There are various factors that influence microhabitat site selection for this species: temperature, proximity to water, shelter accessibility, etc.
Northern cricket frogs are diurnal and generally active much of the year, except in midwinter in northern areas when the water is frozen. They are freeze resistant so during winter months, they stay underground near the surface to resist freezing. Individuals can increase the concentration of body fluids to lower their freezing points, making them resistant to supercooling and flashpoint freezing. Their primary diet is small (13 to 38 mm (0.5 to 1.5 in) long) insects, including mosquitos. They are, in turn, preyed upon by a number of species, including birds, fish, and other frogs. To escape predators, they are capable of leaping up to 3 feet in a single jump and are excellent swimmers. It has been found that not only temperature, but hydration also has an effect on how far these frogs can jump. Being hydrated at a higher temperature is thought to allow them to jump farther and higher.
Breeding generally occurs from May through July. The males call from emergent vegetation with a high-pitched, short, pebble-like call which is repeated at an increasing rate. The sound suggests pebbles being clicked together, much like a cricket, hence the name. One egg is laid at a time, generally attached to a piece of vegetation. The 14 millimetres (0.55 in) tadpoles hatch in only a few days, and undergo metamorphosis in early fall. Maturity is usually reached in less than a year.
