The coloration of this 2- to 3-inch (5- to 7.6-cm) frog is an adaptation for blending with the leaves on the forest floor. Dorsal coloration ranges from gray, to pinkish, to nearly rusty orange. A brown patch extends from the eye to the tympanum. A dorsolateral ridge extends from the tympanum to the pelvis.
Among the first frogs to breed in the spring. They lay their egg masses attached to submerged twigs in vernal pools in woodlands. The eggs hatch within a few days. Metamorphosis is relatively fast.
Moist woodlands, usually with oak, beech and maple trees.
Found throughout Connecticut.
Common, though habitat loss and pollution may prove detrimental.
Conant, R. and J.T. Collins. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern/Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 450 pp.
Klemens, M.W. 1993. Amphibians and Reptiles of Connecticut and Adjacent Regions. Hartford, CT: State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut Bulletin 112. 318 pp.
Text by Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell.
Photographs © Twan Leenders. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Animals featured in photographs on this page are from Connecticut.
Audio files from The Calls of Frogs and Toads [book and CD-ROM]
Published March 2004 by Stackpole Books; 1.800.732.3669.
© 1994 Lang Elliott/NatureSound Studio
All rights reserved. Used by permission.