Anura Pseudacris triseriata -- Western Chorus Frog
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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 on back; white stripe on upper jaw; toe pads small; no webbing between toes.
Similar Species: Upland chorus frog, Strecker's chorus frog, spring peeper.
Description: Small (up to 4 cm SVL) gray, tan, or brown frog with black stripes. Belly cream with scattered dark flecks. Middle section of leg (tibia) less than 47% as long as SVL. Male smaller than female. Male has a dark vocal pouch during breeding season.
Habitat: Found in almost any type of wet habitat, including agricultural fields and urban settings, such as city parks, as long as vernal breeding pools are available. Breeds in ditches, flooded fields, floodplain depressions, even in wet areas along the busiest highways. Seldom seen outside the spring breeding season, so nonbreeding habitat is poorly known.
Natural History: Diet consists of small arthropods. Mates mid-February through May, often in large choruses. Call is similar to sound produced by running finger down teeth of comb, very similar to call of upland chorus frog. Eggs laid in small packets attached to sticks and leaf petioles. Embryos hatch in a few days and tadpoles transform is about two months.
Status: One of the most common spring frogs in the northern two-thirds of Illinois. Range may overlap slightly with upland chorus frog.