This week for Flora and Fauna Friday we have a tiny long-leaping woodland amphibian: the Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus).
The Southern Cricket Frog is an abundant amphibian found throughout the Lowcountry of South Carolina, including Edisto Island. They can be found in and around most every permanent freshwater wetland on the Island but especially in swamps and other wooded wetlands. They spend more time on land away from the water than most frogs. Our Cricket Frog is tiny, the size of a fingertip, with a pointy mouth and warty skin. Their skin is mottled in drab grays and browns with a thick stripe, usually brick-red or neon-green, running up the back, splitting around the forehead, and merging at the nose. Cricket Frogs are also easily identified by their voice. The call of the male is a distinct series of high pitched chirps that speed up as the song progresses. I can best describe it as a glass marble dropped on a tile floor, slowly bouncing to a steady beat that never quite reaches the crescendo. This song has a very insect like quality, sounding like a Cricket or Katydid. Like most frogs, they require moisture to stay hydrated and standing water to breed. So they’re rarely seen far from some source of water yet are commonly seen hopping from underfoot on dry land in the forest surrounding wetlands. Cricket frogs eat small arthropods and, due to their diminutive stature, are themselves eaten by a wide array of predators. Cricket Frogs lack any weaponry but they are masters at evasion. Cricket Frogs have a massive jump for their body length. They’re able to jump about 50 times their body length, four feet or more, at a time. Their small size, long leaps, and shrill song all come together to make their common name of “Cricket Frog” quite the accurate moniker.
