The squirell Tree Frog is often called the "rain frog" because of its calls when wet weather is approaching. It also may be referred to as the Chameleon Frog, for its ability to change colors.
This frog is extremely common in the south and can be seen much of the time on wet nights, around lighted areas and roads. They are often mistaken for other species of frogs because of their range in color and markings.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Development - Life Cycle: metamorphosis
The Squirell Tree Frog feeds off of insects. It prefers small prey, choosing its prey by size rather than identity.
This species is found all over the southern states of the U.S. It ranges from Virginia to the Florida Keys, to the south coast of Texas. It travels as far north as Mississippi (rarely).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Can be found in gardens, brush areas, woods, trees, and vines. Just about anywhere there is moisture, food, and hiding places.
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 8.5 years.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry
The females are summoned by the males with quick and harsh "quacks" between the months of April and August. Once she finds a mate, a female begins amplexus and the eggs are laid inwater. Usually some sort of roadside ditch, pond, or semi-permanent puddle is used. The eggs sink to the bottom and hatch within a month. The tadpoles feed and undergo metamorphosis within days.
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
The squirrel tree frog (Hyla squirella) is a small tree frog native to the southeastern United States.This species can be found along the Atlantic coastal plain from southeastern Virginia to Florida Keys, and west along the gulf plain to southeastern Texas.It has also been introduced to Grand Bahama Island and Little Bahama Bank.
Adults squirrel tree frogs are small, about 4 cm (1.75 inches) in length.They have a range of coloration, from brown to yellow to green, with a variety of markings.Furthermore, squirrel tree frogs are able to change color, in order to camouflage themselves against their background.This variability makes them difficult to identify and they are easily confused with similar treefrog species (for e.g. green treefrogs, Hyla cinerea).Large toepads allow them to cling to leaves and tree trunks.One of the most common frog species in Florida, they live in a range of natural habitats and also in urban areas, on shrub and trees, in bromeliads, in gardens, on buildings, trash piles, vegetation tangles, and along roads.
Squirrel tree frogs are most active during spring and summer. They are mainly nocturnal, and can be found hunting insects around lights at night. They often announce a rainstorm by making a “rain call,” and during daytime rainstorms they will also become active.Between March and October they migrate to breeding areas, usually shallow temporary water bodies where fish are absent.They especially prefer open wetlands, marshes, and flooded ditches.Males give a raspy, squirrel-like mating call (recordings available at amphibiaweb).In a breeding season, females lay one clutch of about 1000 sticky eggs, singly or in small groups, on vegetation or on the floor of the pool about 7.5-15 cm (3-6 inches) deep.Eggs hatch within several days, and tadpoles feed on organic and inorganic matter that they scrape from logs, rocks, and plants.Tadpoles metamorphose within about 2 months.During the winter, adult frogs will hibernate in groups together, under bark or in tree trunks or fallen logs.
Populations of squirrel treefrogs occupy coastal estuarine and harsh barrier island habitats.They will breed in pools affected by saltwater spray, and tadpoles have been reported developing in ponds with salinities half that of sea water.
Squirrel treefrogs are preyed upon by mammals, birds, other frogs, ribbon and other snakes and aquatic invertebrates.Tadpoles are susceptible to capture by dragonfly larvae and waterbugs.Frogs regularly cross roads, especially when active on rainy nights, and collisions with autos may be a significant cause of mortality.Because populations are stable over their range, and this species adapts well to moderate disturbance, it is listed as of least concern by the IUCN.
(Johnson 2007; Mitchel and Lannoo 2016)
The squirrel tree frog (Dryophytes squirellus) is a small species of tree frog found in the south-eastern United States, from Texas to Virginia. This is an introduced species in the Bahamas. Squirrel tree frogs are small frogs, about 1.5 inches in length as adults. There are several color variations, but most commonly they are green and look very much like the American green tree frog. They can also be varying shades of yellow or brown, sometimes with white or brown blotching.
As tadpoles, the squirrel tree frog is preyed upon by dragonfly nymphs, giant water bugs, predatory fish and newts.[2][3] Once the tadpoles metamorphose, the predators of the frogs change to small mammals, other frogs, snakes, birds.[2]
To reduce the danger of being eaten as tadpoles, they use dense vegetation as cover.[4] However, they do not appear to reduce activity within this cover. It has been suggested that the drying of the ponds is a more significant threat to the frogs than predation. As adults, they use their diminutive size and color-changing ability to avoid predation.[5] When not feeding, the frog reduces activity and hides in a retreat; frogs feed within 28 meters of this retreat site.[2]
The tadpoles are suspension feeders that scrape organic and inorganic matter from rocks, plants and log substrates. Adult squirrel tree frogs are very aggressive predators on insects and other invertebrates. They have been observed visiting porch lights in the evening to catch the bugs drawn in by the lights and circling piles of fresh cow-dung to devour the midges that were attracted to the cow-dung. An examination of tree frog stomachs found that nine were empty; four contained beetles; two contained only plant debris; and the rest contained a mixture of crayfish, spiders, crickets, and ants. Tree frogs' eating habits are affected by geographic location, weather, and developmental stage.
Squirrel tree frogs are found in the southeastern United States, from Virginia to Eastern Texas to the Florida Keys. The species is prominent throughout the Coastal Plain regions of South Carolina and Georgia.[6] They have recently been introduced to the Bahamas, on Grand Bahama Island[7] and Little Bahama Bank.[8] They very rarely are found as far north as Mississippi. They occupy a wide range of habitats including fields; urbanized areas; swamps; pine and oak groves; opened wooded areas; the sides of buildings and almost anywhere that food, moisture and shelter can be found. They return to wetlands to breed, typically in locations such as ephemeral pools, roadside ditches or canopy pools where they are safe from predatory fish.[9] Breeding is tied strongly to rain events. [10]The females are oviparous and the eggs are laid singly or in pairs, typically less than or equal to one thousand in number. Males have a special breeding call that can be heard from March to August, even extending into autumn in some parts of the country.[11]
Squirrel tree frogs are active foragers, even when insect predators are present.[13] They can be found in both open- and heavily-forested wetlands, but they have higher rates of survival in bodies of water with a higher density vegetation.[14] Due to their high levels of activity, squirrel tree frogs tadpoles are vulnerable to predation by multiple species of fish, and the adults are vulnerable to predation by the non-native Cuban tree frog.[15][16]
Because of their rapid growth and development, the tadpoles are more likely to survive insect predators than fish predators.[13] There are multiple species of fish, including Gambusia holbrooki, that are capable of hunting and consuming squirrel tree frog tadpoles within higher density vegetation[4] They are a highly active species that forages throughout the water column, and as a result the tadpoles are vulnerable to many species of fish[16]
The Cuban tree frog is known to eat smaller native frogs including the squirrel tree frog. As the population of the Cuban tree frog has increased in Florida, the native squirrel tree frog population has decreased.[17] When they are reared alongside Cuban tree frogs, squirrel tree frogs have a lower survival rate than when they are reared alone; however, the Cuban tree frog does not appear to be a threat to the squirrel tree frog tadpoles.[14]
Although the squirrel tree frog population has decreased in some urbanized areas, they are abundant in some areas of Augusta, Georgia, and Tampa, Florida. The squirrel tree frog crosses roads at night after rains, but the overall effect of traffic on the population is unknown.[5] The squirrel tree frog has a large population and an ability to adapt to disturbed habitats; as a result, there are few concerns about its conservation status.[18] Although there are few concerns about its conservation status, the squirrel tree frog reproductive cycle could be impacted by climate change. Climate change is leading to long periods of hydrological drought and declining the number of ephemeral wetlands that these frogs rely on for breeding.
USGS photograph
A juvenile
Squirrel tree frog on tree in Osceola National Forest, Florida
At the Fern Forest nature center in Coconut Creek Florida
The squirrel tree frog (Dryophytes squirellus) is a small species of tree frog found in the south-eastern United States, from Texas to Virginia. This is an introduced species in the Bahamas. Squirrel tree frogs are small frogs, about 1.5 inches in length as adults. There are several color variations, but most commonly they are green and look very much like the American green tree frog. They can also be varying shades of yellow or brown, sometimes with white or brown blotching.
Hyla squirella o Dryophytes squirrelus' es una especie de anfibios de la familia Hylidae. Habita en Estados Unidos, desde Texas a Virginia.[2][3]
La rana adulta macho mide 2.3 a 3.7 cm de largo. Esta rana puede tener piel verde, gris, o marrón. Tiene un punto entre sus ojos. Hay una línea blanca o amarilla cerca de su boca.[3]
Fotografía procedente del Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos.
Ejemplar de Mississipi.
Hyla squirella o Dryophytes squirrelus' es una especie de anfibios de la familia Hylidae. Habita en Estados Unidos, desde Texas a Virginia.
La rana adulta macho mide 2.3 a 3.7 cm de largo. Esta rana puede tener piel verde, gris, o marrón. Tiene un punto entre sus ojos. Hay una línea blanca o amarilla cerca de su boca.
Hyla squirella Hyla generoko animalia da. Anfibioen barruko Hylidae familian sailkatuta dago, Anura ordenan.
Dryophytes squirellus est une espèce d'amphibiens de la famille des Hylidae[1]. Elle partage le nom de rainette de la Caroline avec la Hyla cinerea.
Cette espèce est endémique des États-Unis. Elle se rencontre dans les États du Sud-Est : en Virginie, en Caroline du Nord, en Caroline du Sud, dans le sud de la Géorgie, en Floride, en Alabama, au Mississippi, en Louisiane, dans l'extrême sud-est de l'Oklahoma, dans l'est du Texas[1],[2].
Elle a été introduite sur les îles de Grand Bahama et d'Andros aux Bahamas.
Cette grenouille arboricole mesure adulte entre 2 et 4 cm. C'est une espèce nocturne qui vit sur les plaines côtières.
D'après Fouquette et Dubois en 2014[3], Bosc n'est pas le descripteur original de cette espèce contrairement à ce qui est mentionné dans la publication originale[4] mais bien Daudin.
Dryophytes squirellus est une espèce d'amphibiens de la famille des Hylidae. Elle partage le nom de rainette de la Caroline avec la Hyla cinerea.
Hyla squirella é uma espécie de anfíbio anuro da família Hylidae.[2][3] É considerada pouco preocupante pela Lista Vermelha da UICN.[1] Está presente em Bahamas, Estados Unidos.[3] Foi introduzida em Bahamas.[3]
Hyla squirella é uma espécie de anfíbio anuro da família Hylidae. É considerada pouco preocupante pela Lista Vermelha da UICN. Está presente em Bahamas, Estados Unidos. Foi introduzida em Bahamas.
