To begin, I note that the spring peeper has apparently been reclassified. In the Animal Encyclopedia and in the Complete Field Guide to American Wildlife (Harper and Row, 1959) it is Hydra crucifer. That infallible source says it is Pseudacris crucifer. Hydra is the tree frog genus, Pseudacris is chorus frogs. The two are differentiated (at least in 1959) by the size of the pads on their digits which enable them to cling to vertical surfaces (i.e., climb trees). Chorus frogs do not have large enough pads. So why the spring peeper has been reclassified is a mystery based on observable behavior, but probably explained by DNA analysis.

“Crucifer” no doubt comes from the X (cross) shape on its dorsal side.

As I’m sure you know, the males peep to attract mates. The louder the better. See. They just don’t do this anymore I’m calling BS on this. My 1959 Guide describes their calls as “chorus like jingling sleighbells.” I checked That Infallible Source and I’ll be darned if it doesn’t say, “As a chorus, they resemble the sounds of sleigh bells.” The reference given though is to a website at Univ. Michigan for kids. That right there is plagiarism. Furthermore, what is the point of that description in 2023? Sleighbells.

Back to the frogs. Female is attracted. He climbs on her and she lays 800-1000 eggs, one at a time, on the stems of aquatic plants. He fertilizes them. Done and done. Eggs hatch in about three days. Tadpoles metamorphous in three months and go on their merry way.

Final point about mating. As with many species, there are what That Infallible Source calls, “satellite males”:

Satellite males who do not make any calls also strategically place themselves near those that make louder calls in an attempt to intercept females.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_peeper

Back in the olden days, we called these males, SLFs–Sneaky Little F–ers. (See also the silent drummer in the band.)

Finally, I do get to say they just don’t make ’em like they used to. The entry in the Guide ends with this.

“It was of these little marsh sprites the poet wrote:

The pipes of Pan in elfin chorus ringing
Bring sweet dreams of youth and love and spring."
--"The Pipes of Pan" by Adrian Ross