*The colored areas of the map above represent parishes with currently known records for the given species (Source: Jeff Boundy, LA Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries). By no means does it represent the full range of the species in the state, nor does it necessarily mean that a species can be found throughout the parish with the record. This is provided as a guide to where you might be able to find these species in the state and to aid in identification. A descriptive explanation of the range of each species can be found in the text below.
Other Common Names:
Subspecies: No subspecies recognized.
Adult Description: A medium-sized stout frog (maximum 1.9”) with coloration of gray, grayish brown, olive brown, or sometimes green. Dark markings on back may be present or absent, but if present, they generally consist of a dark posterior-pointed triangle between eyes, two elongate markings on either side of midline on back, and crossbars on limbs. A dark band extends from tip of snout, past eye, over forelimb, and onto side of body, but this band is often interrupted at or near arms. A dark spot below eye is usually present. No pale stripe present above dark mouth border. Forelimbs are noticeably thick for its size. Belly is white.
Similar Species:
Species Range: Eastern Texas and most of Oklahoma into extreme south-central Kansas, west-central Arkansas, and extreme northwest Louisiana.
Louisiana Range: Known only from Shreveport area in extreme northwestern parishes of Caddo and De Soto.
Adult Habitat: Prairies, open and cultivated fields, pastures, and woodlands of mixed pine-hardwood forests.
Natural History: Strecker’s Chorus Frogs are fossorial, spending most of their time buried under loose sandy soils. As such, they are rarely encountered when not breeding. They presumably feed upon a variety of small invertebrates. Predators likely include snakes, birds, and mammals. They breed from late December to early March in ephemeral vegetated ponds, pools, and ditches. Females lay up to 1,000 eggs in small clumps of 20–50 eggs which are attached to submerged vegetation. Eggs hatch in 2–5 days and tadpoles metamorphose in 2 months. Maturity occurs in just 2–3 months. Wild longevity is 3 years.
Call: A sharp, metallic sounding ‘pip’ likened to the sound of a chisel being struck by a hammer repeated 2–3 times per second. Large choruses are likened to the sound of a rapidly turning pulley wheel badly in need of greasing.
Best Time and Place to Observe: This species was last confirmed in Louisiana in 1982 north of Shreveport in Caddo Parish. In areas to our west where they still occur, they are most often found when calling from their breeding habitats.
Global Conservation Status: Strecker’s Chorus Frogs have a relatively wide distribution in the south-central United States and a presumed large population, and thus, are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. Their NatureServe Global Conservation Status Rank is G5 (Secure).
Federal Conservation Status: None.
Louisiana Conservation Status: Strecker's Chorus Frogs are considered extirpated from Louisiana and currently have a state ranking of SH (historical occurrence with no recent records verified within the last 20 years). Strecker's Chorus Frogs were apparently never common in Louisiana, and their range in extreme northwestern Louisiana represented the eastern edge of the species range. Habitat destruction has been implicated in the extirpation of this species from Louisiana.
***If you live in the historical range of this species in Louisiana and believe you may have observed or heard this species please let me know (take a picture or audio recording if possible), as I hold out hope that it may be holding on somewhere unknown to authorities in Louisiana.***
Author's Remarks: I have never searched appropriate habitat at the right time of year in the range of this species.
