''Pseudacris kalmi'', the New Jersey chorus frog, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the treefrog family

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as " tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and ...

. It is found in the states near

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was first described as

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of '' Pseudacris triseriata'' but it is differentiated by range and size.Conant, Roger and, Collins, John T., 1998, Peterson Field Guide: Reptiles and Amphibians, Eastern/Central North America, 616 pgs., Houghton Mifflin Company;, Boston This frog's color ranges from grey to tan or greenish brown with a dark stripe on both sides of the body that extends from the snout, through their eyes, and to the groin. It breeds in early spring from February to April. It broods in shallow bodies of water,Mitchell, Joseph C. and Karen K. Reay, 1999, Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Virginia, Num. 1, 122 pgs., Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Richmond, VA especially

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the saf ...

s, which dry up later in the season. The adult frog measures 19–36 mm in snout-vent length. It has one stripe that goes from over the mouth to under each eye and three thick stripes over its back from front to back. Sometimes the middle stripe is broken. In breeding seasons, the male frogs seek vernal pools. They sit in the water or on plants and sing for the females, who come to them. The female frog lays eggs on the stems of plants in shallow water. The eggs stick together in

groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

of 8 to 143. The tadpoles take about two months to become frogs. This frog's predators include water snakes, foxes, birds, raccoons, and such

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s as crayfish and spiders. Scientists named this frog ''kalmi'' for

Pehr Kalm Pehr Kalm (6 March 1716 – 16 November 1779), also known as Peter Kalm, was a Swedish-Finnish List of explorers, explorer, botany, botanist, natural history, naturalist, and Agricultural economics, agricultural economist. He was one of the most ...

, also called Peter Kalm, a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

traveler who wrote a book called ''Travels into North America'' in 1772. In that book, he discussed Niagara Falls, other natural features of the area, and the many frogs of New Jersey.

References

Chorus frogs Endemic amphibians of the United States Amphibians described in 1955 {{Hylidae-stub