Wednesday, June 18th
June's meeting will feature an open discussion on how to maintain your reptiles and amphibians at home as well as our care sheet program. You are welcome to bring your animals to this meeting.
Meetings start promptly at 8pm in the Alumni Room of Medaille College.
Northern Cricket Frog
Acris c. crepitans
The Northern Cricket Frog is considered Endangered in New York State and has no Federal Status. It is one of the smallest vertebrate species found in New York. Even though it is classified as a tree frog, the northern cricket frog is an aquatic species. Though it is not as prolific of a climber as its tree frog relatives, the northern cricket frog can leap five to six feet in a single jump
Adult northern cricket frogs are only about one inch in length with the female usually being larger than the male. They are usually brown or green in color with a variety of colors and patterns consisting of red, orange, yellow or black. They can most easily be identified by their small size, dorsal warts, extensive hind foot webbings and blunt nose. Northern cricket frogs also have a dark triangular spot located between their eyes as well as irregular longitudinal line on the thigh. The northern cricket frogs gets its name from its breeding call which resembles the sounds of crickets chirping.
Breeding occurs for the northern cricket frog from June to July. Females will lay several dozen egg masses of five to ten eggs on aquatic plants. After about four days the eggs will hatch. The tadpoles develop relatively slowly and feed on algae and zooplankton. In mid-September the tadpoles will transform into sub-adults of only 5/8 inch.
The cricket frog can be found throughout the midwest and eastern parts of the United States. The Hudson Highlands - Shawangunk region of New York State is the most northern part of their range. Historically, they were also found on Long Island. Cricket frogs prefer sunny, shallow ponds with plenty of vegetation in and around the pond. They can often be found in slow moving, algae-filled waters.
The northern cricket frog has been extirpated from most of its previous locations by the 1940's. They can now only be found in a few small populations in the Hudson Highlands and the Shawangunk areas in New York State. Cricket frogs began declining in New York State in the 1800's when thousands of acres of wetlands were cleared and drained for development. In the 1950's and 1960's pesticides such as DDT decimated most of the remaining populations.
Remember that in many places it is illegal to take wildlife out of the wild without the proper permits from local, state, or federal authorities. Please do not release any captive reptiles or amphibians into the wild as this will disrupt the natural order of our environment. See our amphibian and reptile adoptions page for more information on what to do with unwanted herps.
Help further herpetology research and education by donating to the Marvin R. Aures Herpetological Grant