Cricket frogs, genus ''Acris'', are small,

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

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 ...

s of the 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 ...

. They occur in northern Mexico (

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

), the United States east of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, and in southern Ontario, Canada. They are more aquatic than other members of the family, and are generally associated with permanent bodies of water with surface vegetation. This is a quite important aspect of their survival, as adult cricket frogs suffer high mortality rates when submerged in poorly oxygenated water (typically less than 24 hours on average in water that is ~1.2 mg/L). The

common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

and

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

s refer to their call, which resembles that of a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

. The two common species are ''A. crepitans'' and ''A. gryllus''. ''A. crepitans'' are found in mesic woodlands as well as xeric grasslands, whereas ''A. gryllus'' are concentrated in mesic woodlands. Cricket frogs are able to communicate and attract each other using a specific frequency of their mating call, that sounds like a cricket. It can only be heard by members of the same population. Cricket frogs from other locales are unable to aurally process other calls, leading to mating isolation among the species.

Species

There are three species: * '' Acris blanchardi''

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name and place names, for example: Harper Islands, Nunavut. Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut * Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name ...

, 1947 – Blanchard's cricket frog * '' Acris crepitans'' Baird, 1854 – northern cricket frog * '' Acris gryllus'' (LeConte, 1825) – southern cricket frog

References

* taxo
''Acris''
at http://www.eol.org.

External links

Amphibian genera Frogs of North America Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril {{Hylidae-stub