![Small image of Osteopilus septentrionalis [B]](ostsep1t.jpg)
Ronald Altig1, Roy W. McDiarmid2, Kimberly A. Nichols3 and Paul C. Ustach4
SECTION 1. LTRF, MARGINAL PAPILLAE, AND EYES: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F - [5] -
| A. | LTRF 2/2 or 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae present or not; eyes lateral |
Pseudacris (part) - Section 2
| B. | LTRF 2/2; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes dorsal |
Acris - Section 3
| C. | LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral |
| D. | LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes dorsal to dorsolateral |
| E. | LTRF 2/4; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral |
Osteopilus septentrionalis [B]
SECTION 2. LTR P-3, TOOTH ROW CONFIGURATIONS, SUBMARGINAL PAPILLAE, COLORATION, AND RANGE: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Section 1-A - LTRF 2/2; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae present or not; eyes lateral - [2] -
| A. | P-2/P-3 > 3.0 (if P-3 is present); length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap ca. 3.0; few submarginal papillae laterally; dorsum of tail muscle may be crudely banded at least in younger stages, uniformly dark, or with irregular pale area over most of surface; tail muscle in lateral view often bicolored in younger specimens but becomes more uniform with age; fins blotched in large tadpoles in some areas; winter and spring breeder, most common in temporary sites usually in or near forests throughout eastern North America east of eastern Texas and Missouri and north to central Ontario (extremely variable; sympatric: Pseudacris triseriata**) |
Pseudacris crucifer (part) [B]
![Small image of Pseudacris crucifer (part) [B]](psecru2t.jpg)
| B. | P-2/P-3 > 2.8 (if P-3 is present); length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap < 2.1; few submarginal papillae laterally or none; dorsum of tail muscle uniformly dark; winter and spring breeder, most common in temporary sites usually in open, grassy sites from central Montana south to central Arizona and east to Atlantic Ocean (extremely variable; sympatric: Pseudacris crucifer**) |
Pseudacris triseriata (part) [B]
![Small image of Pseudacris triseriata (part) [B]](psetrit.jpg)
SECTION 3. SPIRACLE, COLORATION, AND RANGE: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Section 1-B - LTRF 2/2; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes dorsal - [3] -
| A. | spiracular tube short, not projecting as tube free from body wall; often dark band across chest; summer breeder, most commonly along edges of permanent lentic or slow-flowing lotic sites from Atlantic Ocean to eastern Colorado and New Mexico and north to central Wisconsin (sympatric: Acris gryllus**) |
Acris crepitans [A]
![Small image of Acris crepitans [A]](acrcret.jpg)
| B. | spiracular tube long, projects as tube free from body wall; chest without dark band; summer breeder in usually permanent lentic sites in Coastal Plain from southeastern Virginia to Mississippi River (sympatric: Acris crepitans**) |
Acris gryllus [A]
SECTION 4. RANGE RESTRICTIONS: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Section 1-C - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral - [5] -
SECTION 5. JAW SHEATHS; TOOTH ROW CONFIGURATIONS, MARGINAL AND SUBMARGINAL PAPILLAE, FINS, COLORATION, AND RANGE: Division 1, Section 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C and 4-A - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; Rocky Mountains and west - [5] -
| A. | lower jaw sheath narrow, upper jaw sheath wide; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.0; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap > 3.0; midventral marginal papillae bi- or triserial; few, scattered submarginal papillae laterally; fins low; uniformly tan in life with considerable uniformly distributed iridophore pigmentation, tan in preservative, fins of larger tadpoles with scattered black blotches; slow parts of streams and remnant stream pools throughout eastern three-quarters of Arizona and adjacent New Mexico and Utah (sympatric: Hyla wrightorum and Pseudacris triseriata) |
Hyla arenicolor (part) [A]
| B. | jaw sheaths medium; P-2/P-3 ca. 3.3; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap ca. 2.4; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; few lateral submarginal papillae; fins medium; body uniformly and often lightly pigmented without tail banding; montane pools and ponds throughout Mogollon Rim in central Arizona plus Huachuca Mountains of southeastern Arizona (sympatric: Hyla arenicolor and Pseudacris triseriata) |
Hyla wrightorum [B]
| C. | jaw sheaths medium; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.7; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap ca. 3.7; midventral marginal papillae biserial midventrally; few submarginal papillae laterally; fins low; body of at least larger tadpoles boldly mottled, dorsum of tail muscle banded at least in younger tadpoles, usually faint in larger ones; (sympatric: Pseudacris regilla) |
Pseudacris cadaverina (part) [A]
| D. | jaw sheaths wide and massive; P-2/P-3 ca. 2.4; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 2.4; marginal papillae uniserial midventrally; few submarginal papillae laterally; fins high, although quite variable among sites; body never boldly mottled and tail muscle never banded; breeds in spring in temporary or permanent lentic sites from southwestern British Columbia to northern Idaho and south and west to southern California (sympatric: Pseudacris cadaverina and P. triseriata) |
Pseudacris regilla (part) [B]
| E. | jaw sheaths narrow to medium; P-2/P-3 > 2.8; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap < 2.1; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; few submarginal papillae laterally; fins medium to high; dorsum uniformly dark (in clear water) or pale (in turbid water); tail muscle usually distinctly bicolored; usually lentic pools in open areas in central Arizona, southwestern Utah, and west-central Idaho (sympatric: Hyla wrightorum and Pseudacris regilla) |
Pseudacris triseriata (part) [B]
| F. | jaw sheaths medium; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.2; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap ca. 2.6; midventral marginal papillae biserial; few lateral submarginal papillae merge into marginal papillae; fins medium to low; small individuals with pale stripe extending posteriorly from eye onto tail and a white area below eye, larger individuals relatively uniformly dark; temporary sites with seasonal rains in south-central (= region of Ajo-Hickiwan- Sells), Arizona (sympatric: none) |
Pternohyla fodiens [A]
SECTION 6. LTR P-3: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C and 4-B - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; Rocky Mountains and east - [5] -
| A. | P-3 long, P-2/P-3 ca. 1.0 |
| B. | P-3 medium to short, P-2/P-3 > 1.2 |
SECTION 7. MARGINAL AND SUBMARGINAL PAPILLAE, LTR A-2, COLORATION, AND RANGE: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C, 4- B, and 6-A - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; Rocky Mountains and east; P-3 long, P-2/P-3 ca. 1.0 - [5] -
| A. | midventral marginal papillae bi- or triserial; few, scattered submarginal papillae laterally; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap > 3.0; uniformly tan in life with considerable uniformly distributed iridophore pigmentation, tan in preservative; slow parts of streams and remnant stream pools in scattered localities in eastern New Mexico, adjacent Colorado and Trans Pecos, Texas (sympatric: none) |
Hyla arenicolor (part) [A]
| B. | midventral marginal papillae biserial; dense patch of small submarginal papillae ventrolaterally; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap > 3.4; color and pattern extremely variable, in some areas, clear parts of fins reddish, yellow or orange coloration late in development; in some areas, fins remain relatively clear vs. heavily marked with large black blotches elsewhere; sites vary geographically from temporary lentic to permanent lentic throughout most of Great Plains east of central Texas and eastern North Dakota and most of region east of Mississippi River (highly variable and no known way to distinguish between these diploid/tetraploid tadpoles; sympatric: Hyla cinerea*, H. femoralis, and H. squirella*) |
Hyla chrysoscelis + H. versicolor (part) [B]
+
| C. | midventral marginal papillae biserial; dense patch of submarginal papillae ventrolaterally; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap > 5.0; body more or less uniformly brown or russet; basal two-thirds of tail muscle with prominent pale lateral stripe that remains in preservative; fin areas adjacent to tail muscle usually lacking or with less dense aggregations of melanic blotches compared with remainder of fin; clear parts of fins usually reddish in life; temporary lentic sites throughout Coastal Plain from Mississippi River to southeastern Virginia (geographic variations apparent = fins much higher, differently shaped, and more brightly colored at Tampa, Florida [central peninsula] and Crestview, Florida [panhandle] with more prominent flagellum than near Gulfport, Mississippi; sympatric: Hyla andersonii*, H. chrysoscelis + H. versicolor, Pseudacris brimleyi, and P. ocularis) |
Hyla femoralis [B]
| D. | midventral marginal papillae biserial, multiserial laterally; submarginal papillae absent; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap ca. 4.0; body uniformly brown, sometimes a pale line extends anteriorly onto body from upper base of tail muscle; temporary lentic sites in extreme southern Texas (sympatric: Hyla cinerea) |
Smilisca baudinii [A]
SECTION 8. RANGE RESTRICTIONS: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C, 4-B, and 6-B - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; Rocky Mountains and east; P-3 medium to short, P-2/P-3 > 1.2 - [5] -
| A. | Rocky Mountains to Mississippi River |
| B. | east of Mississippi River |
SECTION 9. CONFIGURATIONS OF LTRS P-3, P-1 AND A-2, LOWER JAW SHEATH, MARGINAL AND SUBMARGINAL PAPILLAE, COLORATION, AND RANGE: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C, 4-B, 6-B, and 8-A - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; P-3 medium to short, P-2/P-3 > 1.2; Rocky Mountains to Mississippi River - [4] -
| A. | P-2/P-3 ca. 1.7; P-1 without medial gap; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 2.3; lower jaw sheath narrow; midventral marginal papillae biserial; several submarginal papillae scattered laterally; body mostly black, dorsum of tail muscle with white, silver or reddish bands that persist in preservative; a similarly colored band extends between eyes and stripes extending from each eye to the adjacent naris usually disappear in preservative; throat darkly pigmented; summer breeder, usually swampy sites with emergent woody vegetation, in parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana (sympatric: several hylids, but none with similar coloration) |
Hyla avivoca (part) [A]
| B. | P-2/P-3 ca. 2.2; P-1 without medial gap; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 3.5; lower jaw sheath narrow; midventral marginal papillae biserial; several submarginal papillae scattered laterally; entire body dark or greenish with yellowish or yellow-green tinge and with pale lines converging from eyes to nares in life, dorsum of at least larger tadpoles with freckled pattern; throat speckled diffusely; temporary and permanent lentic sites with emergent vegetation from Louisiana north to southeastern Missouri and southwest to central Texas (sympatric: Hyla chrysoscelis + H. versicolor, H. squirella*, and Smilisca baudini) |
Hyla cinerea (part) [B]
| C. | P-2/P-3 ca. 1.4; P-1 without medial gap; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 4.6; lower jaw sheath medium; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; few submarginal papillae scattered laterally; uniformly brown or tan in life, sometimes entire body with bright golden hue, fins clear or with minor black markings in older tadpoles; throat speckled; usually temporary lentic sites in Coastal Plain from southern Texas to Mississippi River (extremely variable and difficult to identify consistently; sympatric: Hyla cinerea* and H. chrysoscelis* + H. versicolor*) |
Hyla squirella (part) [B]
| D. | P-2/P-3 ca. 2.3; P-1 without medial gap; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 1.7; lower jaw medium; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; few submarginal papillae laterally; dorsum uniformly medium brown to silvery depending on habitat turbidity; throat not pigmented; temporary, often grassy, lentic sites from Gulf of Mexico north through central Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas (sympatric: Pseudacris crucifer, P. streckeri*, and P. triseriata**) |
Pseudacris clarkii [B]
| E. | P-2/P-3 > 3.0; P-1 without medial gap; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap ca. 3.0; lower jaw sheath narrow; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; few submarginal papillae scattered laterally; dorsum uniformly medium brown to semi-transparent depending on habitat turbidity; throat speckled; usually temporary lentic sites, often in or near woods and with emergent vegetation, in early spring east of a line connecting southeastern coast of Texas and northwestern Illinois (sympatric: Pseudacris clarkii, P. streckeri, and P. triseriata**) |
Pseudacris crucifer (part) [B]
| F. | P-2/P-3 ca. 2.4; P-1 with medial gap; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap ca. 2.7; lower jaw sheath wide and massive; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; few submarginal papillae ventrolaterally; dorsum uniformly medium to dark brown; throat not pigmented; usually temporary lentic pools in western Montana and adjacent Idaho (fins vary tremendously in height even at neighboring localities; sympatric: Pseudacris triseriata) |
Pseudacris regilla (part) [A]
| G. | P-2/P-3 ca. 2.7; P-1 with medial gap; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap ca. 2.8; lower jaw sheath narrow; midventral marginal papillae biserial; few submarginal papillae ventrolaterally; dorsum uniformly gray to brown or with minor mottling if habitat is not turbid; throat not pigmented; usually temporary, grassy, lentic sites in open areas throughout much of eastern half of Texas and Oklahoma and parts of adjacent states plus southeastern Missouri and adjacent Arkansas (sympatric: Pseudacris clarkii*, P. crucifer, and P. triseriata) |
Pseudacris streckeri (part) [B]
| H. | P-2/P-3 > 2.8; P-1 without medial gap; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap < 2.1; lower jaw sheath narrow to medium; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; submarginal papillae absent to sparse laterally; dorsum uniformly medium brown, sometimes with black dots, to semi-transparent if habitat turbid; throat not pigmented; usually temporary lentic sites in grasslands throughout most of designated area except western three-quarters of Texas and adjacent Oklahoma (sympatric: Pseudacris clarkii*, P. crucifer** and P. streckeri*) |
Pseudacris triseriata (part) [B]
SECTION 10. PROMINENT COLORATION AND LTR P-3: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C, 4-B, 6-B, and 8-B - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; P-3 medium to short, P-2/P-3 > 1.2; east of Mississippi River - [5] -
| A. | body mostly black, dorsum of tail muscle with white, silver or reddish bands that persist in preservative; similarly-colored band extends between eyes and stripes extending from each eye to the adjacent naris usually disappear in preservative; throat darkly pigmented (based on melanic pigment; check with hand lens); P-2/P-3 ca. 1.7; summer breeder, usually swampy sites with emergent woody vegetation in Coastal Plain minus peninsular Florida from southeastern South Carolina to the Mississippi River and north to southern Illinois (sympatric: several hylids, but none with similar coloration) |
Hyla avivoca (part) [A]
| B. | body mostly lightly pigmented brown, sometimes with golden hue in life; lateral surface of tail muscle either with pale stripe bordered dorsally and ventrally by black, or upper black stripe predominates, and is sometimes broken into series of blocks or blotches, margins of fins sometimes dark; throat immaculate; P-2/P-3 ca. 2.7; summer breeder in boggy, often small sites with emergent vegetation in three disjunct areas: New Jersey, North and South Carolina, and western panhandle of Florida (sympatric: Hyla cinerea, H. femoralis*, Pseudacris brimleyi, P. crucifer, and P. triseriata) |
Hyla andersonii [B]
| C. | body and tail uniformly lightly pigmented but with one black saddle at about mid-length of tail; throat not pigmented; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.5; summer breeder in temporary or permanent lentic sites, usually with emergent or floating vegetation in Coastal Plain from New Jersey to Mississippi River and north to southwestern Kentucky (sympatric: Hyla chrysoscelis + H. versicolor, H. cinerea, H. squirella, and Pseudacris ornata) |
Hyla gratiosa (part) [A]
| D. | body darkly pigmented; white ventral portion of tail coloration about 50% of basal muscle height and demarcation between them is distinct; pale (silver to orange) line of iridophores from eye to tail junction (largely disappear in preservative) sometimes extends onto tail to form pale stripe above black portion; throat distinctly pigmented, usually in spots; P-2/P-3 ca. > 3.0; spring breeder in temporary or permanent forest swamp pools in central Coastal Plain of Virginia to northeastern Georgia coast (sympatric: Pseudacris ocularis*, P. ornata*, and P. triseriata) |
Pseudacris brimleyi (part) [B]
| E. | body darkly pigmented; white, ventral portion of tail coloration about 25% of basal muscle height; pale silver to orange stripe from eyes to tail base (usually disappears in preservative) may extend onto dorsolateral part of tail muscle as pale stripe above dark area; dark tail banded dorsally, at least in smaller specimens; fins with abundant diffuse blotches; dorsum of large specimens with discrete black dots; throat pigmented near oral disc; P-2/P-3 ca. 4.0; summer breeder usually in temporary lentic sites with emergent vegetation in southeastern Virginia to western part of Florida panhandle (sympatric: Pseudacris brimleyi*) |
Pseudacris ocularis (part) [B]
| F. | regardless of size, stage or range, notable colors or patterns in this Section absent (tadpoles in above choices that loose all or part of specified patterns in preservative appear again in this track); length of P-3 variable |
SECTION 11. LTR P-3 AND TAIL MUSCLE COLORATION: Division 1, Sections 1- E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C, 4-B, 6-B, 8-B, and 10-F - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; P-3 medium to short, P-2/P-3 > 1.2; east of Mississippi River; regardless of size, stage or range, notable colors or patterns in Section 10 absent - [5] -
| A. | P-3 medium, P-2/P-3 1.3-1.6; lateral surface of tail muscle pigmented throughout (even if diffusely), mottled, or graded from dark dorsally to pale ventrally (i.e., not bicolored = black dorsal and white ventral parts with abrupt demarcation between them) |
| B. | P-3 short, P-2/P-3 > 1.8; lateral surface of tail muscle pigmented throughout (even if diffusely), mottled, or graded from dark dorsally to pale ventrally (i.e., not bicolored = black dorsal and white ventral parts with abrupt demarcation between them) |
| C. | P-3 short, P-2/P-3 > 1.8; lateral surface of tail muscle distinctly bicolored (i.e., black dorsal and white ventral parts with abrupt demarcation between them) |
SECTION 12. LOWER JAW SHEATH, LTR CONFIGURATIONS, MARGINAL PAPILLAE, COLORATION, AND RANGE: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C, 4-B, 6-B, 8-B, 10-F, and 11-A - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; east of Mississippi River; regardless of size, stage or range, notable colors or patterns in Section 10 absent; P-3 medium, P-2/P-3 1.3-1.6; lateral surface of tail muscle pigmented throughout (even if diffusely), mottled, or graded from dark dorsally to pale ventrally (i.e., not bicolored) - [5] -
| A. | lower jaw sheath robust and very wide, half nearest serrated edge very black, remainder brown; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.5; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 4.6; midventral marginal papillae biserial; fins clear until tadpole gets quite large, then has punctate melanophores proximally and stellate ones distally, the latter often dilate at night to produce jet-black tail, a white line caused by lack of pigment in subintegumentary layers extends from each naris toward the adjacent eye, tail muscle lightly pigmented until tadpoles get large; throat not pigmented; summer breeder in temporary or permanent lentic sites, usually with emergent or floating vegetation in Coastal Plain from New Jersey to Mississippi River and north to southwestern Kentucky (sympatric: Hyla avivoca, H. chrysoscelis + H. versicolor, H. cinerea, H. squirella, Pseudacris nigrita, P. ocularis, P. ornata, and P. triseriata) |
Hyla gratiosa (part) [A]
| B. | lower jaw medium, entirely black; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.4; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 4.6; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; uniformly brown or tan in life, sometimes entire body with bright golden hue, fins clear or with minor black speckling in older tadpoles; throat speckled; usually temporary lentic sites in Coastal Plain from Mississippi River to southeastern Virginia (extremely variable and difficult to identify consistently; sympatric: Hyla cinerea*, H. chrysoscelis* + H. versicolor*, H. gratiosa, Pseudacris nigrita, and P. triseriata) |
Hyla squirella (part) [B]
SECTION 13. COLORATION, MARGINAL PAPILLAE, TOOTH ROW CONFIGURATIONS, LOWER JAW SHEATH, AND RANGE: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C, 4-B, 6-B, 8-B, 10-F, and 11-B - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; east of Mississippi River; regardless of size, stage or range, notable colors or patterns in Section 10 absent; P-3 short, P-2/P-3 > 1.8; lateral surface of tail muscle pigmented throughout (even if diffusely), mottled, or graded from dark dorsally to pale ventrally (i.e., not bicolored) - [3] -
| A. | throat diffusely pigmented (based on melanic pigment, check with hand lens); entire body dark or greenish with yellowish or yellow- green tinge and with pale lines converging from eyes to nares in life, dorsum of at least larger tadpoles with freckled pattern; midventral marginal papillae biserial; P-2/P-3 2.2; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 3.5; lower jaw sheath narrow; summer breeder in temporary and permanent lentic sites with emergent vegetation in Coastal Plain from Maryland to Mississippi River and north in Mississippi Embayment to southern Illinois (sympatric: Hyla chrysoscelis + H. versicolor, Pseudacris crucifer, P. streckeri, and P. triseriata) |
Hyla cinerea (part) [B]
| B. | throat not pigmented; dorsum uniformly medium brown; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; P-2/P-3 > 2.5; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 3.0; lower jaw sheath narrow; spring breeder in temporary pools, often in or near woodlands in southwestern Pennsylvania to northeastern Mississippi and central Alabama (sympatric: Pseudacris crucifer** and P. triseriata**) |
Pseudacris brachyphona [B]
| C. | throat speckled with widely-spaced, large melanophores; dorsum uniformly medium brown to semi-transparent depending on habitat turbidity; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; P-2/P-3 > 2.8; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 3.0; lower jaw sheath narrow; spring breeder, usually in temporary lentic sites, often in or near woods and with emergent vegetation, throughout all designated area except southern half of Florida peninsula (sympatric: P. streckeri* and P. triseriata**) |
Pseudacris crucifer (part) [B]
| D. | throat pigmented with chains of punctate melanophores that form a reticulate pattern; dorsum uniformly dark to medium brown with pale dorsolateral stripes; midventral marginal papillae biserial; P-2/P-3 3.2; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 2.6; to 35 TL; lower jaw sheath narrow; spring breeder in temporary pools in open areas in Coastal Plain from southern Mississippi to North Carolina (sympatric: Pseudacris brimleyi*, P. crucifer, P. ocularis*, and P. ornata**) |
Pseudacris nigrita [B]
| E. | throat not pigmented; small specimens dark with distinctly bicolored tail that becomes less distinctly bicolored with age, older specimens nearly uniformly black or with minor mottling; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.9; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. > 4.0; to 65 TL; lower jaw sheath medium to wide; spring breeder in temporary or permanent forest swamp pools in southeastern Louisiana to North Carolina except for southern two-thirds of Florida peninsula (sympatric: Pseudacris crucifer*, P. nigrita, and P. triseriata) |
Pseudacris ornata (part) [B]
| F. | throat not pigmented; dorsum uniformly gray to brown or with minor mottling, if habitat turbid may be uniformly very pale; midventral marginal papillae biserial; P-2/P-3 ca. 2.7; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 2.8; lower jaw sheath narrow; spring breeder, usually in temporary, grassy, lentic sites in southwestern and north-central Illinois (sympatric: Pseudacris crucifer and P. triseriata) |
Pseudacris streckeri (part) [B]
| G. | throat not pigmented; dorsum uniformly medium brown, sometimes with black dots, to semi-transparent if habitat turbid; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; P-2/P-3 > 2.7; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. < 2.1; lower jaw sheath narrow to medium; spring breeder, usually in temporary lentic sites in grasslands throughout the designated area but seldom gets onto Coastal Plain (sympatric: Pseudacris crucifer**) |
Pseudacris triseriata (part) [B]
SECTION 14. THROAT PIGMENTATION, TOOTH ROW CONFIGURATIONS, SIZE, LOWER JAW SHEATH, MARGINAL AND SUBMARGINAL PAPILLAE, COLORATION, AND RANGE: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Sections 1-C, 4-B, 6-B, 8-B, 10-F, and 11-C - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes lateral; east of Mississippi River regardless of size, stage or range, notable colors or patterns in Section 10 absent; P-3 short, P-2/P-3 > 1.8; lateral surface of tail muscle distinctly bicolored - [4] -
| A. | throat pigmented uniformly dark; P-2/P-3 > 3.0; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca. 1.0; to 35 TL; lower jaw sheath narrow; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; submarginal papillae lacking; white ventral portion of tail coloration about 50% of basal muscle height; pale (silver to orange) line of iridophores from eye to tail junction (largely disappear in preservative) sometimes extend onto tail to form pale stripe above black portion; chin and throat distinctly pigmented, usually in spots; spring breeder in temporary or permanent forest swamp pools in central Coastal Plain of Virginia to northeastern Georgia (sympatric: Pseudacris crucifer, P. nigrita, P. ocularis**, and P. ornata*) |
Pseudacris brimleyi (part) [B]
| B. | throat lightly pigmented near oral disc; P-2/P-3 > 3.5; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap ca 5.0; to 30 TL; lower jaw sheath narrow; midventral marginal papillae biserial; few submarginal papillae ventrolaterally; white, ventral portion of tail coloration about 25% of basal muscle height; pale (silver to orange) stripe from eyes to tail base (usually disappears in preservative) may extend onto dorsolateral part of tail muscle as a pale stripe above dark area; dark tail banded dorsally, at least in smaller specimens; fins with abundant diffuse blotches; dorsum of large specimens with discrete black dots; fins of larger specimens with fairly uniform, diffuse pigmentation; summer breeder usually in temporary lentic sites with emergent vegetation in southeastern Virginia to western part of Florida panhandle (sympatric: several hylids, but only P. brimleyi** has a similar pattern) |
Pseudacris ocularis (part) [B]
| C. | throat not pigmented; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.9; length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap > 4.0; to 65 TL; lower jaw sheath medium to wide; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; few submarginal papillae scattered laterally; small specimens dark with distinctly bicolored tail that becomes less distinctly bicolored to almost unicolored with age; temporary or permanent forest swamp pools in southeastern Louisiana to North Carolina except for southern two- thirds of Florida peninsula (sympatric: Pseudacris crucifer*, P. nigrita, and P. triseriata) |
Pseudacris ornata (part) [B]
| D. | throat not pigmented; P-2/P-3 > 2.8; length of one side of A- 2/width of medial gap ca. < 2.1; to 35 TL; lower jaw narrow; midventral marginal papillae uniserial; few submarginal papillae scattered laterally; dorsum of tail muscle uniformly dark, bicolored condition more common in northern populations; winter and spring breeder, most common in temporary sites usually in open, grassy sites throughout most of designated area but seldom gets onto Coastal Plain (extremely variable; sympatric: Pseudacris crucifer**) |
Pseudacris triseriata (part) [B]
SECTION 15. COLORATION, LENGTH OF LTR P-3, AND RANGE: Division 1, Sections 1-E and 1-F; Division 4, Section 1-D - LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae absent; eyes dorsal to dorsolateral (eye positions often mis-evaluated on these species) - [5] -
| A. | uniformly tan in life with considerable uniformly distributed iridophore pigmentation, tan in preservative; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.0; slow parts of streams and remnant stream pools throughout eastern three-quarters of Arizona and adjacent New Mexico and Utah plus scattered localities in eastern New Mexico, adjacent Colorado and Trans Pecos, Texas (sympatric: none) |
Hyla arenicolor (part) [A]
| B. | body of at least larger tadpoles boldly mottled, dorsum of tail muscle banded at least in younger tadpoles, usually faint in larger ones; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.7; slow-flowing lotic sites and adjacent lentic sites in southeastern California from San Luis Obispo Co. southward (sympatric: none) |
Pseudacris cadaverina (part)[A]