THE AMPHIBIA OF OKLAHOMA 



25. Spots oval, each with a lighter area about it 26 



25. Spots nearly circular, snout rounded. (Raiia areohitii) .... 27 



26. Snout pointed, animal voy agile, state-wide and abundant. 



Southwestern Leopard Frog, Rana herlandieri Baird. 



26. Snout rounded, animal not especially agile, western Oklahoma only. 



Short Headed Leopard Frog, Rana brachycephala Cope.^*^ 



27. Dorsal surface smooth; dorsolateral folds narrow and usually not well developed; 

 legs fairly short (tibiae 40 mm. or less);^'^ crayfish burrows in southeastern Okla- 

 homa. Southern Crayfish Frog, Rana areolata areolata Baird and Girard. 



27. Dorsal surface often rugose; dorsolateral folds well developed; legs rather long 

 (tibiae more than 40 mm. ).!''' Crayfish burrows in northeastern Oklahoma. 



Northern Crayfish Frog, Rana areolata circtilosa Rice and Davis. 



Annotated List of Species and Subspecies 



1. Acris crepitans Baird (Northern Cricket Frog) 



Distribution: state-wide. Habitat: edges of pools, lakes, and streams ex- 

 cept in deep woods, most abundant on mud-flats adjoining shallows, rare 

 where tall vegetation goes to water's edge or where bank is steep. Breeding: 

 April to September in waters adjoining habitat. Call: a series of rapidly re- 

 peated "kick-kick-kick" often slower and drawn out toward end of each 

 series. Eggs: single with very sticky jelly attached to vegetation below water 

 surface. Tadpoles: greenish, broadly oval, spotted dorsally with cream or very 

 bright yellow, older ones often with intensely black tail-tip, very shy at all 

 ages, tending to hide in algal mats or other cover most of the time; grow to 

 rather large size and except for an attenuated tail-tip superficially resemble 

 frog tadpoles just before metamorphosis. Descriptions: eggs not certainly and 

 clearly dealt with as such, some data given by Smith (1934) and Walker 

 (1946); tadpoles. Walker (1946); adults, Smith (1934), Walker (1946). 



2. Bufo terrestris americanus Holbrook (American Toad) 



Distribution: eastern half of Oklahoma, mostly in woodland and savan- 

 nah. Habitat: in southeast tends to occupy the wooded hillsides rather than 

 the valleys; farther west, in both situations. Breeding: April to July in shallow 

 grassy pools or shallows of larger bodies of water, also in small streams (spring 

 runs and tiny creeks where current is not swift). Call: a prolonged, high 

 sweet-toned trill. Eggs: in long strings on bottom distinguished by a straight 

 partition between adjoining eggs. Tadpoles: black or nearly so, tending to 

 cluster in shallows or on bottom, weak swimmers. Descriptions: eggs, Wright 

 and Wright (1942); tadpoles, Wright (1929, 1942); adult, Wright (1942), 

 Smith (1934), Walker (1946). 



3. Bufo cognatus Say (Great Plains Toad) 



Distribution: western two-thirds of Oklahoma in grassland only. Habi- 



1*' A', brachycephala occurs in western Oklahoma. Its tailpolcs are in all probability 

 similar to those of R. herlandieri but are not well known. 

 "^"^ Largely after Coin and Netting (1940). 



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