Description: 1 - 1ΒΌ inches. Blanchard's Cricket Frogs have bumpy brown, gray, or green skin. There may be a reddish brown or bright green stripe down the back. The larger bumps on the back are usually still brown or gray, even when the skin around them is green.
Similar Species: Boreal Chorus Frogs and Spring Peepers both have smooth, or slightly granular skin.
Status: Minnesota's only endangered amphibian. Thought to be locally extinct (extirpated) from Minnesota by the late 1980s. This species was rediscovered in the southern Twin Cities in the late 1990s, and in the southeast Minnesota in the early 2000s. Additional recolonization was documented into southwest Minnesota in 2017 (Smith 2018, p. 298). While new populations continue to be discovered, other previously documented populations have since disappeared. A large disappearance of seemingly large colonies occurred the summer of 2020 following unusually winter floods on the Mississippi River. Further research is needed on the role of winter floods on this species given its unusual overwintering biology (i.e., are terrestrial but not freeze tolerant) (Badje et al. 2016).
Learn More: MNDNR - Rare Species Guide
This map is generated from data provided by the Bell Museum of Natural History and HerpMapper.org. Please help us keep it up-to-date by submitting your amphibian and reptile observations.
Blanchard's cricket frog chorus. Courtesy of Christopher E. Smith.
A couple individual Blanchard's cricket frogs calling. Courtesy of Christopher E. Smith.
