Florida's Frogs
Chorus Frogs (Family Hylidae)
_________________________________________________________
Ornate Chorus Frog
(Pseudacris ornata)
Ornate Chorus Frog (click on small images to view larger)
Photos by (clockwise from top) Dr. Steve A. Johnson (UF), C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr., and Brian Camposano (UF). Photos may not be used without the express written permission of the photographer. To obtain permission to use photos by Dr. Johnson for educational purposes, email tadpole@ufl.edu.
Size:
Usually about 1 in. (max. ~ 1.5 in.)
Identification:
Stout body ranges widely in color from whitish to gray, reddish-brown, green, or black. The upper lip is marked with a distinct light line. Sides are usually marked with dark stripes (sometimes broken) extending from the snout through the eyes to the groin; arms are marked with dark bars. The sides of the lower back are marked with large, dark spots; back may also be marked with additional stripes or blotches (often faded). Head may be marked with a faded dark triangle. The groin is washed with yellow pigment, and the hidden surfaces of the legs are marked with yellow spots. Digits are tipped with small toepads.
Breeding:
November to March; eggs are laid in small clusters (20-40 eggs) attached to submerged vegetation. Call is a series of high-pitched, squeaky peeps repeated up to 80 times per minute, similar to the call of the Spring Peeper. To hear frog calls, visit the USGS Frog Call Lookup and select the species you want to hear from the common name drop-down list.
Diet:
Worms, other small invertebrates.
Habitats:
Found in northern Florida, burrowed in the sandy soils (under herbaceous plants) of sandhills, pine-oak forests, pine flatwoods, and oldfields up to 500 yards from breeding sites. Often remains underground during summer and early fall. Breeds in shallow, fish-free wetlands, including sinkhole ponds, cypress domes, bayheads, and flooded ditches.
Map by Monica E. McGarrity - may be used freely for education.
Go Back to Florida's Frogs - All Regions
