Description: This small species of frog reaches about 1.3 inches in length. It is highly variable, but is normally brown, and can be green on the dorsal surface, with three broken dorsal stripes; these stripes can be very distinct to quite faint. A dark band is present from the snout, across the eye, and continuing down the side. It has slightly enlarged toe pads to help in climbing small grasses and vegetation. This species is very similar to the western chorus frog (Pseudacris triseriata). It can be distinguished from this species by having shorter legs.
Habitat: Habitat is mostly the vicinity of quiet bodies of water and associated wetlands and meadows; sometimes these frogs cross up to a few hundred meters of upland habitat between wetlands, and they may overwinter in upland sites adjacent to wetlands; periods of inactivity may be spent in water, among thick wetland vegetation, under objects on the ground, or in rodent burrows. Chorus frogs breed in marshes, rain pools, pools formed by melting snow, bog ponds, glacial kettle ponds, beaver ponds, marshy edges of lakes and reservoirs, flooded areas, and other bodies of water with little or no current.
Range: It occurs in the USA throughout Montana, northwestern Wisconsin, northeastern Arizona, northern New Mexico, and southwestern Utah.
Diet: Boreal chorus frogs eat a variety of small insects and spiders.
Reproduction: Pseudacris maculata is categorized as an annual breeder. Breeding takes place once the weather begins to warm, typically from late February to around April. After mating, a single female can lay anywhere from 500-1500 eggs, with a highly variable hatching rate of anywhere from 37% to 87%.The life cycle continues with tadpoles metamorphosing around June or July. The metamorphosis survival rate also has a massive range of 10-100% in the wild.
In lowland areas, males usually begin calling in late March or April, usually when air temperature is above 10?C. Chorusing continues through spring and early summer. By early to late June calling may come to a temporary halt, only to begin again in June, July, or even August after heavy rains or when fields are flooded with irrigation water. In the Great Plains region of Colorado, most egg laying occurs in April, May, and June. At high elevations, breeding begins immediately after the spring thaw in late May or early June and may continue into July. Calling (but not egg laying) commonly occurs through late August at high mountain breeding sites and in adjacent meadows. Some of the males calling in August appear to be young of the year.
Each female may lay several egg clusters. Hatching may occur within a few days or up to about a week after laying. Metamorphosis occurs as early as early June in lowland areas and primarily during July and August, sometimes as late as early September, in the mountains. Young usually leave the water before the tail is fully resorbed. Breeding populations at low elevations are composed only of individuals that hatched the previous year. At higher elevations males do not breed until they are about two years old, females not until three years old.
Status: Globally classified as a Species of Least Concern. In Arkansas, Indiana, & New York it is classified as Imperiled. In Michigan and Vermont it is classified as Critically Imperiled. In Iowa, Kansasm, Minnesota, MNissouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, & Wyoming it is classified as Secure or Apparently Secure.
Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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