|
AMPHIBIA:
ANURA: HYLIDAE: Pseudacris
|
|
Pseudacris regilla
(Baird and Girard, 1852)
Pacific treefrog
Photos
& text by Dr. Robert Sprackland.
Left:
Pacific treefrog from near Moscow, Idaho, photographed in April 1990.
|
|
|
Range:
Extreme southern Baja north to southern British
Columbia and western islands (possibly extreme southern Alaska), and east
to western Montana and Nevada.
|
|
Diagnosis:
A small (5 cm/2 inch) frog with a black stripe from
the nostril, through the eye, to shoulder, and distinct toe pads.
|
|
Description: A
color-changing species that alters between green, gray, brown and brick
red, with a light gray belly. The body is nearly round, and covered with
tiny tubercles.
|
|
Natural History:
This is a commonly distributed species that lives in almost any wet
environment, even those that are quite near salt water. They live near sea
level and into the mountains, and their calls can be heard almost year
round, provided temperatures are appropriate. They feed on a variety of
small insects.
|
|
Reproduction: Breeding
generally takes place late in the year, usually mid October until early
December. Eggs are laid in standing water.
|
|
Taxonomy & Relationships:
This frog was long considered to be a member of the genus Hyla.
|
|
Variation:
|
|
Additional Comments:
|
|
Type Specimen:
|
|
Literature:
Croes, Scott, and Robert Thomas. 2000. Freeze
tolerance and cryoprotectant synthesis of the Pacific tree frog, Hyla
regilla. Copeia 2000(3):863-89.
Stebbins,
Robert. 1985. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians.
Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN: 0-395-38253-X
|
