Blanchard's cricket frog

Blanchard's cricket frog
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Hylidae
Genus:	Acris
Species:	A. crepitans
Subspecies:	A. c. blanchardi Harper, 1947
Trinomial name
Acris crepitans blanchardi Harper, 1947

Blanchard's cricket frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi) is a subspecies of northern cricket frog (A. crepitans). It is a small, darkly colored frog. It is seen throughout the Midwestern United States, and although not considered threatened at a federal level, is a threatened or endangered in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. It is extirpated from Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada.

Description

Blanchard's cricket frogs have warty skin that is usually brown, gray, tan, or olive green, with darker bands of color on the legs. A dark, triangular mark between the eyes is frequently seen. They are small, growing to between 0.6 and 1.5 inches (1.5 and 3.8 cm) in length. They generally inhabit slow-moving or stagnant bodies of water, and are the most aquatic of tree frogs in North America. They hibernate during the cold months, emerging in late March or early April and beginning hibernation in late October. Breeding occurs from mid-May to mid-July, and females lay small clusters or single eggs. Tadpoles emerge in late summer. Breeding males have a metallic clicking call distinctive to the species. The subspecies is named after Frank N. Blanchard, a noted American herpetologist.

Conservation

Blanchard's cricket frogs can be found through most of the Midwest United States, ranging from Michigan and Wisconsin in the north to southern Texas in the south and from Colorado in the west to West Virginia in the east. Although not listed at the federal level, Blanchard's cricket frogs are considered at risk in some states. It is an endangered species in Wisconsin, and is a threatened species in Michigan, due to a significant population decline since the late 1970s. Habitat loss, chemical contaminants, and competition for resources have been posited as reasons for this decline. Populations can still be found in the southern and western portions of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. A. crepitans, including A. c. blanchardi, is also considered endangered in Minnesota. It may also still be on Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada, but has not been reported since 1987.