Ornate Chorus Frog (Pseudacris onrnata)
Description: It is 1–1.5 inches in head-body length. Its color varies depending on locale: some are green, others red or brown. It typically has a defined but broken stripe or spots leading from the nose down the side. The frog’s upper lip is marked with a clear light colored line and many individuals have a faded triangle marking on the very top of the head. It has a pure white belly, and usually has yellow spots located in front of the hind legs.
Habitat: Most commonly found in the Southern coastal plain. The ornate chorus frog is typically found in xeric habitats, including pine stands, sandhills, and pine savannahs. Woodland ponds, flooded fields, and roadside ditches can serve as breeding habitat, although ponds found within sandhills, and pine forests or plantations observe the most breeding. A site with an open canopy and herbaceous vegetation is also common for breeding. These frogs require seasonally flooded wetlands without fish for a three to four month period for tadpoles to develop completely.
Range: Range includes the Coastal Plain from North Carolina to central Florida (at least formerly), and west to southeastern Louisiana.
Diet: Metamorphosed frogs eat various small terrestrial invertebrates. Larvae eat organic debris, algae, and plant tissue.
Reproduction: Clusters of up to about 100 eggs (usually a few dozen) are laid from late fall to early spring (peak usually in winter). Larvae hatch in about a week and metamorphose into small frogs about 3-4 months later. Individuals become sexually mature in 1 year in South Carolina. Little or no recruitment occurs during drought periods.
Status: Broad range but some evidence of decline, at least in peninsular Florida.
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»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Amphibia - Amphibians
»» Order: Anura - Frogs & Toads
»» Family: Hylidae - Treefrogs
»» Genus: Pseudacris
»» Species: Pseudacris onrnata - Ornate Chorus Frog
»» Subspecies: None
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ornate Chorus Frog", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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