Acris gryllus (LeConte, 1825)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Hylidae > Subfamily: Hylinae > Genus: Acris > Species: Acris gryllus

Hyla ocularis Latreille In Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille, 1801 "An. X", Hist. Nat. Rept., 2: 187. Holotype: MNHNP according to Daudin, 1802 "An. XI", Hist. Nat. Rain. Gren. Crap., Quarto: 33, and Daudin, 1803 "An. XI", Hist. Nat. Gen. Part. Rept., 8: 69, and presumably animal figured as "Hyla oculata" in pl. 4, fig. 2 of Daudin, 1802 "An. XI", Hist. Nat. Rain. Gren. Crap., Quarto: 20. Presumed lost because not reported in subsequent literature or type catalogue. Type locality: "grands bois de la Caroline sur les arbres"; given as "South Carolina and Georgia" by Stejneger and Barbour, 1933, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 3: 32; restricted to "vicinity of Charleston", South Carolina, USA, by Harper, 1939, Am. Midl. Nat., 22: 139–144, although this is invalid as not being based on disclosed evidence. Regarded as a senior synonym of Rana gryllus Harlan by Mittleman, 1946, Herpetologica, 3: 57–60, but Neill, 1950, Am. Midl. Nat., 43: 152–156, regarded the name as an unrecognizable composite, this supported by Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 328–329, who discussed the issue. Retained here for convenience of discussion. 

Hyla oculata — Daudin, 1802 "An. XI", Hist. Nat. Rain. Gren. Crap., Quarto: 20, Pl. 4, fig. 2. Incorrect subsequent spelling of Hyla ocularis.

Calamita ocularis — Merrem, 1820, Tent. Syst. Amph.: 172.

Rana gryllus LeConte, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 282. Syntypes: Not designated; thought to include USNM 3564 (7 specimens) and 5909 (7 specimens) by Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 74; see discussion by Dunn, 1938, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 90: 153–154. Type locality: Not designated. Considered to be "Riceboro, [Liberty County,] Georgia", USA, by Dunn, 1938, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 90: 153, who noted that the data with the type is "Georgia", USA. This restriction regarded as invalid by Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 329, on the basis that it was not based on disclosed evidence.

Rana dorsalis Harlan, 1827, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 5: 340. Syntypes: ANSP, now lost according to Duellman, 1977, Das Tierreich, 95: 3. Type locality: "Lower 100 miles of the Saint John's River", Florida, USA. Synonymy by De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1(3): 70; Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: 71; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 336.

Auletris ocularis — Wagler, 1830, Nat. Syst. Amph.: 201.

Hylodes gryllus — Holbrook, 1838, N. Am. Herpetol., 2: 75.

Acris gryllus — Duméril and Bibron, 1841, Erp. Gen., 6: 507.

Acris acheta Baird, 1854, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 7: 59. Holotype: Presumably originally Philadelphia Mus., ANSP, or USNM, not subsequently located. Type locality: "Key West [, Monroe County], Florida", USA. Synonymy by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 336. Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 330, regarded the original publication date to be 1856, but see Fox, 1913, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Index, 1812–1912: vii–xiv.

Acris gryllus gryllus — Cope, 1875, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 1: 30.

Acris gryllus var. bufonia Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 337. Holotype: BMNH 45.11.9.35, according to Duellman, 1977, Das Tierreich, 95: 2. Type locality: "New Orleans", Orleans Parish, Louisiana, USA. Junior secondary homonym of Hyla bufonia Spix, 1824, when in Hyla.

Acris gryllus achetae — Garman, 1884, Bull. Essex Inst., 16: 43, by implication and misspelling.

Acris gryllus dorsalis — Netting and Goin, 1945, Q. J. Florida Acad. Sci., 8: 305.

Common Names

Savannah Cricket (Acris gryllus: LeConte, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 282; LeConte, 1855, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 7: 426).

Savannah Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus: Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 168).

Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus: Yarrow, 1876, List Skeletons and Crania: 40; Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 396; Dickerson, 1906, The Frog Book: 153; Brimley, 1907, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 23: 158; Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: x; Smith, 1934, Am. Midl. Nat., 15: 457; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 67; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176).

Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus: Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 6; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 2; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 7; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 11; Frost, Lemmon, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 6).

Florida Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus dorsalis: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 68; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 317; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 51; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 6; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 2; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 7; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 11).

Savannah Cricket (Acris gryllus gryllus: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 23).

Southeastern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus: Viosca, 1949, Pop. Sci. Bull., Louisiana Acad. Sci., 1: 10).

Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus gryllus: Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 317; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 10; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 51; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 11; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 7).

Coastal Plain Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus gryllus: Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 6; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 2; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 11).

Distribution

Southeastern USA from southeastern Louisiana and southwestern Tennessee east throughout all of Mississippi to southern Georgia, then northeast along the coastal plain to southeastern Virginia and throughout peninsular Florida.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: United States of America, United States of America - Alabama, United States of America - Florida, United States of America - Georgia, United States of America - Louisiana, United States of America - Mississippi, United States of America - North Carolina, United States of America - South Carolina, United States of America - Tennessee, United States of America - Virginia

Endemic: United States of America

Comment

Gamble, Berendzen, Shaffer, Starkey, and Simons, 2008, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 48: 112–125, reported on phylogeographic structure. Jensen, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 443–44, and Dodd, 2013, Frogs U.S. and Canada, 1: 226–235, provided accounts that summarized the literature of the species. Micancin and Mette, 2009, Zootaxa, 2076: 1–36, discussed acoustic and morphological identification in sympatry with Acris crepitans. Elliot, Gerhardt, and Davidson, 2009, Frogs and Toads of N. Am.: 118–119, provided an account, photos, and advertisement call. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 191–192, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. See account of biology and life history in southern Florida by Meshaka and Lane, 2015, Herpetol. Conserv. Biol., 10 (Monogr. 5): 38–42. Guyer and Bailey, 2023, Frogs and Toads of Alabama: 154–157, provided a detailed account for the species in Alabama, USA.  

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