THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY


Amphibia    Anura    Hylidae  

Collinses' Mountain Chorus Frog
Pseudacris collinsorum Ospina, Tieu, Apodaca, and Lemmon, 2020
SOO-day-kriss — kal-in-SOR-um

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Ospina et al. (2020, Copeia 108: 778–795) split P. brachyphona into two species by designating the name P. collinsorum to the southern populations and maintaining the name P. brachyphona for the northern populations, citing male call differences, nDNA and mtDNA genetic differences and reciprocal monophyly, ecological niche divergence, and geographic separation between the two species. (Mendelson, Joseph R., III, Darrel R. Frost, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, and Maureen A. Donnelly. 2025. Anura – Frogs. Pages 1-9 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2025.08.16.14.29.26)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.11 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Alabama Georgia Mississippi North Carolina Tennessee

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for two prominent herpetologists.
Pseudacris — From Greek pseudes (ψευδής), “false,” and akris (ἀκρίς), “locust.” Likely refers to their insect-like trilling calls—“false locusts.”
collinsorum — A plural patronym honoring Joseph T. Collins and Suzanne L. Collins, American herpetologists and conservationists known for their work on taxonomy and field research in the southeastern U.S.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Mountain Chorus Frog (Pseudacris brachyphona: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Chorus Frog (Pseudacris brachyphona: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Collinses' Mountain Chorus Frog (Pseudacris collinsorum: Ospina, Oscar E., Lynee Tieu, Joseph J. Apodaca, and Emily Moriarty Lemmon. 2020. Hidden diversity in the Mountain Chorus Frog (Pseudacris brachyphona) and the diagnosis of a new species of chorus frog in the southeastern United States. Copeia 2020(4):778-795);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1923 Noble, G. Kingsley. The generic and genetic relations of Pseudacris, the swamp tree frogs. American Museum Novitates (70):1-6
1980 Hoffman, R. L. Pseudacris brachyphona. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (234):1–2
2004 Moriarty, Emily C. and David C. Cannatella. Phylogenetic relationships of the North American Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris: Hylidae) Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30:409-420
2005 Faivovich, J., C. F. B. Haddad, P. C. de A. Garcia, D. R. Frost, J. A. Campbell, and W. C. Wheeler. Systematic review of the frog family Hylidae, with special reference to Hylinae: A phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (294):1–240
2007 Moriarty-Lemmon, Emily. Patterns and Processes of Speciation in North American Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris). Dissertation. University of Texas, Austin. 304pp.
2020 Ospina, Oscar E., Lynee Tieu, Joseph J. Apodaca, and Emily Moriarty Lemmon. Hidden diversity in the Mountain Chorus Frog (Pseudacris brachyphona) and the diagnosis of a new species of chorus frog in the southeastern United States. Copeia 2020(4):778-795
2023 Dodd, C. Kenneth. Frogs of the United States and Canada. Second Edition. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 1032pp.

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 16:54 CT