Voice: The call is 3, 4 or 5 guttural croaks with two or three 

 clucks afterwards. The process may occupy 5 or 6 seconds. They are 

 shy, croak at night, and even a big chorus is quickly stopped as one 

 approaches the pond. They may croak from the surface, beneath the 

 surface or from perches on logs, sticks or around the bases of bushes. 



Breeding: They breed from February to December, the crest 

 coming from April to August. The egg mass is a plinth, 5-6 inches 

 (125-150 mm.) wide, 1-2 inches deep (25-50 mm.), attached to stems 

 of plants or to sticks, submerged. The egg is 1/16 inch (1.6 mm.), the 

 envelopes, 1/8 inch (3.2 mm.), 1/5 inch (5.4 mm.). The tadpole is 

 large, 3 inches (74 mm.), the tail with conspicuous black blotches as 

 transformation approaches. The tooth ridges are 2/3 or 2/3- After a 

 tadpole period of 67 to 86 days, they transform from April to October 

 at 4/5-1 1/3 inches (20-33 mm.). 



Notes: April 29, 1921. Okefinokee Swamp, Ga. Noah Lee took me 

 to where he had found frog's eggs. They were about 8 feet from the 

 edge of the pond in water 4-6 inches deep. . . . We found two more 

 isolated masses each at or just below the surface and encircling 

 lizards' tail (Saururus) which is now in bloom. The water on the sur- 

 face was 90 . Of the croaking position, we recorded on April 23, 1921 

 that male Rana sphenocephala lie on the surface when croaking or are 

 amongst pickerel weed stems. The rear of the body is usually sprawled 

 out and may be at the surface or submerged. The head and upper 

 back are usually emergent. At times they may croak from the edge of 

 a pond like R. pipiens or croak beneath the surface or lie amongst 

 drift wood. 



This species began croaking and breeding early in the season 

 long before we arrived in the swamp in April. The earlier choruses 

 come by day as well as at night. As the season advances the later 

 breeders may be heard only in late morning before dawn except for 

 rare periods in day time before a storm passes or after its passage. 



September 11, 1929. About dusk, we stopped near Lyons, Indiana, 

 near the home of Gless J. Deckard and heard many meadow frogs in 

 a pond back of his place. We found many of them at the edge of the 

 pond in grass or in little depressions. At times, though not croaking, 

 they kept their sacs inflated. They have more pointed snouts than our 

 northern meadow frog and all had light centers to the tympana. . . . 

 September 12, 1929. We went on to Olney, 111., driving on the 'slab- 

 road,' about a mile south of the town lights. Here we found a pond 

 beside the road, and lo and behold there were about ten egg comple- 

 ments of meadow frogs. 



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