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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

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Pseudacris triseriata triseriata
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A.K.A.

Western Chorus Frog, Striped Chorus Frog

 

DESCRIPTION COLORATION

Coloration: Brownish, gray, olive or tan with dark stripes on its back and a dark band that runs from the nose to top of its back leg. Its belly is white or light.
Males have a yellow colored vocal sac. The skin is bumpy. Toes have slight toepads.
Tadpoles: gray or brown with clear tails sometimes flecked with brown.

 

SIZE

3/4 inches to 1 1/2 inches.

 

HOME

IN MICHIGAN: Common throughout Lower Peninsula; Rare in the Upper Peninsula.
Also throughout middle and eastern North America from Quebec to Kansas.

 

HABITAT

Meadows, marshes, fields, and woodlands.

 

LIFESTYLE

This frog is very reclusive. It is very rarely seen outside of the breeding season.
Average life span for those that live to adulthood is 5 years.
These frogs live and hibernate beneath logs, rocks, leaves, loose soil, and animal burrows.
The Western Chorus Frog is nocturnal and solitary.

 

FOOD

Many types of small invertebrates. Tadpoles each algae.

 

BREEDING

The breeding season is March to May. These frogs breed in vernal ponds. Eggs are laid in small masses which can be found attached to submerged grasses or sticks. Each mass may have 20 to 300 eggs. Eggs hatch after 3 to 14 days. Tadpoles transform into frogs in 2 to 3 months. Time periods and durations will vary with climate.

 

INTERESTING FACTS

The Western Chorus Frog is one of the first species to call in the spring.

 

For more information, visit these other web sites:

Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata triseriata) - Department of Natural Resources, Michigan

Pseudacris triseriata (striped chorus frog or western chorus frog) - Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology


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