Brimley's Chorus Frog

Scientific Names: Pseudacris brimleyi
Classification: Nongame species
Range: Coastal Plain (blue)

Overview

Brimley's chorus frog is a small, tan frog with a prominent dark brown or black stripe running along each side of its body, from snout to groin. It usually has three paler stripes on its back, and its bell is yellowish. Some individuals have dark spots on their chests. Brimley's chorus frogs lack the dark triangular spot often present between the eyes of other chorus frogs. Brimley's chorus frogs breed in marshes, swamps, floodplain forests and roadside ditches of the Coastal Plain. They lay eggs in several small clumps, and it takes four to eight weeks for the tadpoles to transform. 

Brimley's chorus frogs are named after Clement Samuel Brimley, who was a North Carolina naturalist who conducted research on amphibians and reptiles in the early 1900s. 

Calls:

Brimley's chorus frogs call between December and April. Their call is a short, raspy trill. 

Regulations

Brimley's chorus frog is classified as a nongame species with no open season. It is unlawful for any person to take, or have in possession, any nongame mammal or bird unless that person has a collection license or is collecting fewer than 5 reptiles or fewer than 25 amphibians that are not endangered, threatened, or special concerned species.It is listed as a species in need of monitoring by the N.C. Natural Heritage Program.

Management

Frogs and toads can be monitored fairly easily in a variety of ways. One way is through frog call monitoring. The North Carolina Calling Amphibian Survey Program attempts to do just that by corralling data collected by volunteers across the state that monitors specific frog call routes. Each species of frog and toad has a unique call that is distinguishable from others.  Some are more difficult for humans to separate than others, but the frogs know who’s who!  Learn your frog calls, and you too can distinguish who’s calling in the ponds.  Another way to monitor frogs and toads is by looking for egg masses deposited in wetlands and/or by looking for tadpoles in those same wetlands. Different frogs breed at different times of the year, so when to look for eggs is dependent on the species of interest. Eggs typically hatch within a couple weeks of being deposited, so there is a fairly short window for detection. Frog eggs can sometimes be identified to family, but are somewhat tricky to identify to species level.  Tadpole identification can be similarly tricky, so learning and listening to frog calls is definitely the easiest method for determining what frogs and toads are using a wetland. Tadpoles are a little easier to monitor, as most species have tadpoles present in wetlands for longer periods of time. This is, again, variable by species.  Most species have tadpole stages that last at least several months, but the range in timing for different species is everything from a couple of weeks to several years.  The smaller frog and toad species tend to have shorter tadpole cycles, while the larger frogs and toads tend to have longer times to metamorphosis.

Related Links, Calls & Photos

Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Reports

Have a Wildlife Problem?

There are no reported problems with this species.