The Eastern (or Northern) Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans) is a small frog of the eastern 1/3 of the US. It is common in almost any type of body of water from New Jersey down to Florida and west to the Mississippi River.
West of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio River it is replaced by the Blanchard's Cricket Frog (A. blanchardi). In the southeastern US there is another species, the Southern Cricket Frog (A. gryllus). The Southern and Eastern Cricket Frogs overlap in some areas of the southeastern US.
Eastern Cricket Frogs are small frogs less than 2 inches in length. Their coloration varies from brown to green with or without conspicuous markings. Their specific epithet crepitans is a reference to the rough, tubercles on their skin. They often have a backwards pointing triangle shape between their eyes. This triangle can be brown, green, or even orange.
The call of the Eastern Cricket Frog is a clicking sound similar to the sound of two pebbles being hit together. They call from the edges of ponds or creeks or even on floating vegetation or rocks in streams. Their clicking call is a loud call and can be heard day or night and from quite a distance.
This Eastern Cricket Frog was recorded in the DeSoto National Forest in Mississippi in May 2018.
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© Chris Harrison 2018
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