Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans)


Atlas of Amphibians in Tennessee - Austin Peay State University
Wikipedia
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
The Frogs & Toads of Georgia - Walter Knapp
AmphibiaWeb - University of California
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, United States Geological Survey
Tennessee Amphibians & Reptiles - Matthew Niemiller

The Northern Cricket Frog is widespread across Tennessee, though I have yet to see one in East TN. They're as common as dirt around streams in the Greater Nashville area, especially along the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail in Cheatham County. They come in two very distinct color forms. One is all brown, and the other has a bright neon green stripe down the back that almost looks like it was made with a highlighter. Their call is really cool; it sounds like someone knocking two small rocks together. (It doesn't sound like a cricket at all, so I'm not sure where the name came from.)


Photos by Matthew Niemiller (top) & James Beck (bottom)

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