When we first arrived at Hopkins Prairie, the morning cloud cover had disobeyed the weather forecast and stayed put, leaving the day a little chilly and dull. Not great herp weather, but we were greeted by the chirping chorus of dozens of these tiny frogs. Walking near the edge of ponds and marshes, there were froglets galore leaping for their liquid shelter.

These frogs are extremely similar to their Floridian cousins, and some researchers consider them to be local variations not worth splitting into separate subspecies. I saw just a few of them along the edge of a roadside pond, eager to leap for safety in the water.