Prairie Home Conservation Area, located in eastern Cooper County, is an upland area with a mix of oldfields, small cropfields, grasslands, and woodlands.
The original acquisition in 1963 included 212
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Scientific Name
Pseudacris crucifer
Family
Hylidae (treefrogs and allies) in the order Anura (toads and frogs)
Description
The spring peeper is a small, slender frog with an X-shaped mark on its back. The general color can be pink, tan, light brown, or gray. The X-shaped mark may be very faint in light-colored frogs or dark on darker ones. A dark line runs across the top of the head and between the eyes, and there are dark bars on the legs. The belly is a plain cream color. The tips of fingers and toes have adhesive pads.
The call of male spring peepers is a clear, high-pitched peep, with a slight rise in pitch at the end. The peeping call is repeated about once per second. A chorus of spring peepers can sound like hundreds of small jingle bells. This frog is one of the first species to begin calling in the spring. After the breeding season, they may continue to call during the day or night from wooded areas, especially after a rain. Thus you may hear them on warm spring nights and also during the day in early summer and fall. There are records of them calling as late as November in Missouri.
Similar species: In the hylid family, nine species, in three genera, are native to Missouri:
- Acris, the cricket frogs, one species: Blanchard’s cricket frog;
- Hyla, the treefrogs, three species: gray treefrog, Cope’s gray treefrog, and green treefrog; and
- Pseudacris, the chorus frogs, five species: spring peeper, upland chorus frog, Cajun chorus frog, Illinois chorus frog, and boreal chorus frog.
Size
Adult length: ¾ to 1¼ inches, snout to vent; occasionally to 1½ inches. Males are smaller than females.
Where To Find
Nearly statewide, but not found in the extreme northwestern corner of Missouri. Has a broad range in the eastern half of North America.
Habitat and Conservation
This woodland species lives near ponds, streams, or swamps with thick undergrowth. Spring peepers are more abundant where there is denser forest cover. The spring peeper usually remains hidden during the day and becomes active at dusk; it may, however, become active during the day if heavy rains persist. Look for them on leaf litter and other surface debris during the active season.
Spring peepers may be active from late February through November in Missouri. As with a number of toads or frogs that overwinter in the soil, under leaves and logs, and beneath bark, spring peepers produce a kind of antifreeze in their blood that protects their tissues from damage if they become frozen.
Breeding occurs in fishless woodland ponds, temporary pools, water-filled ditches, or semipermanent, fishless swamps, especially if brush, branches, and rooted plants are standing in the water.
Food
Spring peepers forage on leaf litter and other surface debris for a variety of small insects and spiders.
Status
Common in Missouri; this species needs access to ephemeral (short-term), swampy ponds and pools in woodlands. It has become threatened in states where wetland habitat has shrunk.
This species was previously classified as a treefrog (Hyla crucifer crucifer). Since then, researchers have shown that it is actually a chorus frog (Pseudacris), so it was placed in that genus. At one time, this taxon was divided into two subspecies: the southern spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer bartramiana) and the northern spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer crucifer), which occurred in Missouri. Genetic information no longer supports the recognition of the two subspecies.
Life Cycle
Life Cycle
These frogs are active from late winter to late fall; breeding is mostly in late February to mid-May in small woodland pools. In Missouri, breeding adults migrate to ponds in about early March to late April. Fishless, woodland ponds, temporary pools, water-filled ditches, or semipermanent, fishless swamps are favorite breeding sites, especially if brush, branches, and rooted plants are standing in the water.
Males call from the water’s edge or from dead leaves or branches sticking out of the water. The female can lay around 900 eggs; these are fertilized by the male as they are laid. The eggs are laid singly, attached to dead leaves, grasses, or sticks in shallow water. Eggs hatch in 3–4 days or up to 10–14 days, depending on water temperature. Tadpoles metamorphose about 3 months later and disperse from their ponds mostly from late May to late July. They become sexually mature at age two.
Spring peepers overwinter in the soil; a natural antifreeze in their blood keeps them from freezing.
Human Connections
Spring peepers are one of the first species to begin calling each year. Their peeping, jingling choruses are greeted as a true harbinger for spring, and a sign that the back of winter is broken. No wonder people are so happy to hear them!
The species name, crucifer, means "cross bearer" and refers to the X-shaped mark on the back.
Ecosystem Connections
Spring peeper tadpoles are eaten by fish, a variety of salamanders, and dragonfly larvae. Adults have been preyed upon by fish, birds, mammals, aquatic diving beetles, giant water bugs, and several species of snakes. On several occasions, northern watersnakes have been seen eating adult spring peepers in Missouri.
As predators, spring peepers help control populations of the insects on which they feed.
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Spring peeper at full peep.
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Missouri Department of Conservation
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Submitted by Mark Beckemeyer
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Spring Peeper
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Xplor Staff
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About Reptiles and Amphibians in Missouri
Missouri’s herptiles comprise 43 amphibians and 75 reptiles. Amphibians, including salamanders, toads, and frogs, are vertebrate animals that spend at least part of their life cycle in water. They usually have moist skin, lack scales or claws, and are ectothermal (cold-blooded), so they do not produce their own body heat the way birds and mammals do. Reptiles, including turtles, lizards, and snakes, are also vertebrates, and most are ectothermal, but unlike amphibians, reptiles have dry skin with scales, the ones with legs have claws, and they do not have to live part of their lives in water.