Florida's Frogs
Chorus Frogs (Family Hylidae)
_________________________________________________________
Southern Chorus Frog
(Pseudacris nigrita)
Southern Chorus Frog
Photo by Dr. Steve A. Johnson (UF). To obtain permission to use this photo for educational purposes, email tadpole@ufl.edu.
Size:
Usually 0.75 to 1.25 in.
Identification:
Body is whitish gray to tan; skin is somewhat warty. Back is marked with dark, broken lines or rows of spots (frogs found in peninsular Florida). Upper lip usually marked with a distinct light line; upper lip of individuals found in peninsular Florida may be nearly black. The snout is more pointed than that of other chorus frogs. Digits are tipped with small toepads.
Breeding:
November to April (may be year-round in peninsular Florida); eggs are laid in in clusters (about 15 eggs) attached to submerged vegetation. Call is a repeated trill. 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:
Ants, beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, other small invertebrates.
Habitats:
Found throughout Florida, with the exception of the Keys, usually burrowed in the loose, sandy soils of habitats near breeding sites, including sandhills, pine flatwoods, and pine-oak forests. Breeds in shallow, temporary wetlands, including sinkhole ponds, cypress domes, wet flatwoods, and flooded ditches and fields.
Map by Monica E. McGarrity - may be used freely for education.
Go Back to Florida's Frogs - All Regions
