Anura Pseudacris feriarum -- Southeastern Chorus Frog
All information found on this site falls under the INHS's Internet License Agreement.
Purple shade indicates vouchered specimens. Light blue (cyan)
shade indicates photographic records. Yellow shade indicates verified
sighting. Slanted hatch indicates pre-1980 records only
NOTE: Not all specimens upon which these maps are based have been verified.
Key Characters: Three thin, dark stripes, often broken into spots, on back; white stripe on upper jaw; toe pads small; no webbing between toes.
Similar Species: Western chorus frog, Strecker's chorus frog, spring peeper.
Subspecies: Upland chorus frog, P. f. feriarum.
Description: Small (up to 4 cm SVL) gray, tan, or brown frog with dark spots or stripes. Belly cream with scattered dark flecks. Middle section of leg (tibia) at least 47% as long as SVL. Distinct dark stripe on each side from snout through eye and along side to groin. Male smaller than female. Male with dark vocal pouch during breeding season.
Habitat: Forests, forest edges, and nearby open marshy fields. Breeds in nearly any shallow, temporary body of water, even a considerable distance from forest.
Natural History: To many people the calls of this frog and spring peepers are the symbols of spring. Diet consists of small arthropods. Mates late February through May, peaking in March. Males often chorus in large numbers while perched at edge of water or floating on it. Call is similar to sound produced by running finger down teeth of comb. Eggs (about 100 per female) are laid in elongate clusters attached to sticks or leaf petioles. Embryos hatch in a few days and tadpoles transform in about two months.
Status: Range may overlap slightly with western chorus frog. One of the most common frogs throughout the extreme southern counties.