Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

I have a question about the likely identity of a frog that I saw in my garden. Sorry, I didn't get a chance for a picture. I live in southwest Ohio near the border of Indiana (near Cincinnati). I have 8 acres of meadows and woods with a creek and a pond. We have LOTS of common american toads. I see them almost every day. This little one was different. It was not "warty" like a toad. It was very small, and almost completely black in color. This was the most defining feature was the very dark color, almost black. It was also very fast, jumping and darting all around. It was about an inch long, and sort of "arrow" shaped with a little bit of a point to his head. We saw this little guy right after a lot of rain, hopping all around our flower bed. Any ideas what he could be? We were thinking maybe a cricket frog or a baby wood frog.

Thanks!

I suspect you are right on the cricket frog guess. They come in numerous color variations, including black and dark brown, and are well known for their quick, powerful, erratic leaping when approached; wood frogs are much less jumpy. Cricket frogs do tend to have some warts on the skin, but not as prominent as those of toads.

A recent mtDNA paper split placed all cricket frogs north of the Ohio into Acris blanchardi, but these populations were traditionally recognized as A. crepitans.