Natural History: Acris gryllus (Southern Cricket Frog)

• On our field trip to Stono Preserve, I encountered several Southern Cricket frogs. I assume they were juveniles because of their small size, but no longer tadpoles because all four limbs were fully developed. Further, they were found in a transition area from the pond and the woods, in the mud. Their bodies were maybe only half an inch long, not including the legs. All individuals had a bright green Y or a bright yellow Y down their back with a dark background. Unfortunately those were the only distinguishing factors I could make out before they jumped out of my field of vision. They were too quick to catch so I wasn't able to see if they had the characteristic two dark stripes on the back of the thighs so confirmed with the field guide. I was able to rule out the eastern cricket frog because it does not have the same geographic range as the southern cricket frog. It was really cool to see these brightly colored tiny frogs jumping at my feet and I hope on the next field trip I'll be able to catch one to get a closer look at their features and maybe determine the sex of an individual, since I was not able to on this trip.