Hyla squirella

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

The squirrel treefrog is also known as the "rain frog".

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

It can be found among trees or shrubs , in open pine woods , in swamps , under leaf litter , or even around housesAdults can be found hiding under bark , in hollow tree holes, or really anywhere that is close to moisture and food. This frog is nocturnal , hiding in vegetation during the daytime. . At night it is common around outdoor lights where it hunts insects.

Ecology: Open woods , cities, and towns; thick low vegetation near water; wherever there is adequate moisture, hiding places, nearby standing water , and insect food. When inactive , hides under loose bark , palm leaves, in tree holes , in gardens, and in other protected sites. There is a non-breeding "rain call " given by males from trees and bushes when rainfall is impending. Eggs and larvae develop in flooded roadside ditches, flat woods ponds , swamps , and small, semi permanent stock-watering ponds. Males call from debris and twigs above water, on ground near water, or hidden in grass clumps adjacent to permanent or temporary rain pools of moderate depth (Schwartz and Henderson 1991).[1]


List of Habitats :1.4Forest - Temperate 3.4Shrubland - Temperate 5.1Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls ) 5.4Wetlands (inland) - Bogs , Marshes, Swamps, Fens , Peatlands 5.6Wetlands (inland) - Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) 5.7Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) 5.8Wetlands (inland) - Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) 14.4Artificial/Terrestrial - Rural Gardens 14.5Artificial/Terrestrial - Urban Areas 15.2Artificial/Aquatic - Ponds (below 8ha)

Biology

Reproduction

This Treefrog breeds from March to late August or early October. Usually breeding takes place in vegetation. Their call sounds like a duck's quack or sometimes like a squirrel.

Fertilization is external. The female lays up to 1,000 eggs in shallow, standing water with abundant vegetation. Hatching to transformation takes six weeks.

Behavior

The Squirrel Treefrog is nocturnal . It spends the day resting in moist hiding places. It is called a "rain frog" because it is one of the species that calls only during and after summer showers.

In addition to mating calls , the Squirrel Treefrog has a call that it makes when it rains. This call is usually made from sites far from the breeding pond and sounds like some of the sounds that squirrels make, hence the name .

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 29-Aug-2005

Similar Species

At least eight species can be confused with this Treefrog. Identification is largely by a process of elimination. The Squirrel Treefrog does not have spots or stripes on the inner thighs like those found on the Pine Woods Treefrog and on Northern and Southern Cricket Frogs. It does not have dark spots on its flanks as does the Ornate Chorus Frog. It does not have light spots under its eyes like the Gray Treefrog and Bird - voiced Treefrog do, or a stripe through the eye like that found on the Little Green Frog. It also lacks the "X" on the back that distinguishes the Spring Peeper. The Squirrel Treefrog usually does have a light side stripe, but its bottom border is not as distinct as on the Green Treefrog. The Squirrel Treefrog also has larger toe disks and more webbing on its back feet than other Chorus Frogs do. The ranges of all the Chorus Frogs in Georgia except the Mountain Chorus Frog overlap the Squirrel Treefrog range.

Members of the genus Hyla

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 664 species and subspecies in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

H. abbreviata · H. abdivita · H. acreana · H. acuminata · H. adelaidensis · H. affinis · H. africana · H. albofrenata · H. alboguttata · H. albolineata · H. albomarginata · H. albonigra · H. albopuncata · H. albopunctata · H. albopunctulata · H. albosignata · H. albotaeniata · H. albovittata · H. alemani · H. alleei · H. alleni · H. allenorum · H. altae · H. altipotens · H. aluminiata · H. alvarengai · H. alytolylax · H. amboinensis · H. ameibothalame · H. americana · H. amicorum · H. anataliasiasi · H. anceps · H. and · H. andersoni (Pine Barrens Treefrog) · H. andersonii (Pine Barrens Tree Frog) · H. andina · H. angiana · H. angularis · H. angustilineata · H. annectans · H. aperomea · H. araguaya · H. arborea (European Common Tree Frog) · H. arborea arborea (European Tree Frog) · H. arborea daponica · H. arborea immaculata · H. arborea japonica · H. arborea kretensis · H. arborea molleri · H. arborea sarda · H. arborea savignyi · H. arborea schelkownikowi · H. arborea var. meridionalis Boettger, 1874 · H. arborescandens (Lesser Bromeliad Treefrog) · H. arboricola · H. arenicola · H. arenicolor (Canyon Treefrog) · H. arfakiana · H. argenteovirens · H. ariadne · H. arildae · H. armata · H. aromatica · H. astartea · H. atlantica · H. auraria · H. aurata · H. aurea · H. aurea ulongae · H. aurifasciata · H. aurifasciatus · H. avicoca avicoca · H. avivoca (Bird-Voiced Treefrog) · H. avivoca avivoca (Bird-Voiced Treefrog) · H. baileyi · H. balzani · H. bambusicola · H. battersbyi · H. baudini · H. baudinii · H. baudini dolomedes · H. baumgardneri · H. becki · H. benitezi · H. berthalutzae · H. bicolor · H. bifurca · H. bifurca andersson · H. biobeba · H. bipunctata · H. bischoffi · H. bischoffi bischoffi · H. bistincta (Mexican Fringe-Limbed Treefrog) · H. bivittata · H. bivocata · H. boans · H. boans boans · H. bocourti · H. boesemani

More Info

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Further Reading

• A check list of North American amphibians and reptiles / by Leonhard Stejneger and Thomas Barbour. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; [etc., etc.]1923. ENG url p. 31, p. 36.
• A manual of land and fresh water vertebrate animals of the United States (exclusive of birds) by Henry Sherring Pratt.. . Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's Son & Co., inc.[c1935] ENG url p. 165.
• Amphibian Data. For additional documentation about utilization and CITES status, click on the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) link above to see the GAA account for this species or alternatively follow this link to the search function on the Global Amphibian Assessment web site and run your own search.
• Annales des sciences naturelles: comprenant La physiologie animale et végétale, l'anatomie comparée des deux règnes, la zoologie, la botanique, la minéralogie et la géologie Paris: Crochard FRE url p. 373.
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. ENG url p. 1219, p. 159, p. 161.
• Behler, J.L. and King, F.W. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 743 pp.
• Blackburn, L., Nanjappa, P. and Lannoo, M.J. 2001. An Atlas of the Distribution of U.S. Amphibians. Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA.
• Breviora. Cambridge, Mass., Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. ENG url p. 9.
• Bulletin des Sciences Naturelles et de Geologie. Paris. url p. 145.
• Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History. Bloomington, Ill.: The Laboratory, ENG url p. 215, p. 257.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, ENG url p. 51, p. 56.
• Catalogue of scientific papers, 1800-1900. Compiled by the Royal Society of London. London, C.J. Clay and Sons, 1867-1902 [etc.] Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1914-25. ENG url p. 915.
• Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia in the collection of the British Museum / by.. . A. Günther. London, 1858. ENG url p. 111.
• Classification der Batrachier, mit Berucksichtigung der fossilen Thiere dieser Abtheilung der Reptilien. Neuch©Øtel, 1838. GER url p. 75.
• Conant R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, USA.
• FWS/0BS. [Washington]Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. ENG url p. 129, p. 136.
• Frost, D.R. (ed.) 1985. Amphibian Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Allen Press and the Association of Systematic Collections, Lawrence, Kansas.
• Handbook of frogs and toads of the United States and Canada. Ithaca, N.Y.Comstock Pub. Co., 1933. ENG url p. 121, p. 128, p. 129, p. 224, p. 23, p. 7.
• Handbook of frogs and toads.. . of the United States and Canada. Ithaca, N.Y.Comstock Pub. Co., 1933. ENG url p. 121, p. 128, p. 129, p. 224, p. 23, p. 7.
• Hedges, S.B. 1993. Global amphibian declines: a perspective from the Caribbean. Biodiversity and Conservation 2: 290-303.
• Hedges, S.B. 1999. Distribution of amphibians in the West Indies. In: W.E. Duellman (ed.), Patterns of Distribution of Amphibians. A Global Perspective. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
• Hedges, S.B. 2001. Caribherp: database of West Indian amphibians and reptiles. Online at: . Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
• Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. Chapel Hill, N.C. [etc.]:Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society [etc.], 1884-2001. ENG url p. 198.
• Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée, par M. le cher, Cuvier.. . Avec figures, dessinées d'après nature. Paris, Deterville, 1829-30. FRE url p. 108.
• Life-histories of the frogs of Okefinokee swamp, Georgia; North American Salientia (Anura) no.2; by Albert Hazen Wright. New York, The Macmillan company, 1931. ENG url p. 10, p. 12, p. 124, p. 13, p. 14, p. 15, p. 183, p. 188, p. 194, p. 201, p. 219, p. 225, p. 230, p. 233, p. 24, p. 243, p. 244, p. 246, p. 247, p. 249, p. 254, p. 255, p. 26, p. 271, p. 272, p. 275, p. 277, p. 278, p. 282, p. 283, p. 286, p. 289, p. 29, p. 291, p. 293, p. 294, p. 3, p. 309, p. 31, p. 310, p. 311, p. 312, p. 313, p. 314, p. 315, p. 316, p. 317, p. 318, p. 319, p. 321, p. 322, p. 323, p. 324, p. 331, p. 34, p. 35, p. 37, p. 4, p. 457, p. 461, p. 479, p. 480, p. 481, p. 484, p. 486, p. 495, p. 5, p. 56, p. 6, p. 61, p. 63, p. 64, p. 65, p. 66, p. 67, p. 69, p. 7.
• Martof, B.S. 1975. Hyla squirella. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 168: 1-2.
• Martof, B.S., Palmer, W.M., Bailey, J.R. and Harrison III, J.R. 1980. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
• Mount, R. H. 1975. The Reptiles and Amphibians of Alabama. Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, AL, USA.
• Mémoires de la Société des Sciences Naturelles de Neuchatel. url p. 75.
• Name that animal; a guide to the identification of the common land and fresh-water animals of the United States, with special reference to the area east of the Rockies. With drawings by Olive Driver. [Northampton? Mass., 1950] ENG url p. 351.
• North American herpetology, or, A description of the reptiles inhabiting the United States / by John Edwards Holbrook. Philadelphia: J. Dobson, 1836-40. ENG url p. 105, p. 80.
• North American herpetology; or, A description of the reptiles inhabiting the United States. Philadelphia, J. Dobson;1842. ENG url p. 123, p. 128, p. 136, p. 138.
• Principles of animal biology / by A. Franklin Shull, with the collaboration of George R. Larue and Alexander G. Ruthven. New York; McGraw-Hill book company, inc., 1946. ENG url p. 310.
• Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. [Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia] ENG url p. 109, p. 252, p. 407, p. 692.
• Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. [Washington, Biological Society of Washington] ENG url p. 12, p. 120, p. 133, p. 51, p. 58.
• Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. Boston [etc.]Boston Society of Natural History. ENG url p. 189.
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] ENG url p. 51, p. 62, p. 65, p. 66, p. 70.
• Revue Zoologique par La Société Cuvierienne Paris: Société Cuvierienne. FRE url p. 322.
• Schwartz, A. and Henderson, R.W. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions and Natural History. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, Florida. xvi + 720 pp.
• Smithsonian contributions to knowledge. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1848-1916. ENG url p. 39.
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. ENG url p. 31, p. 76.
• Textbook of zoology / by George Edwin Potter. St. Louis: Mosby, 1947. ENG url p. 486.
• The Bahama Islands / edited by George Burbank Shattuck. [Baltimore]: Johns Hopkins Press; 1905. ENG url p. 339.
• The batrachians and reptiles of the state of Indiana. Indianapolis, 1893. ENG url p. 203, p. 58.
• The ecological impact of man on the south Florida herpetofauna / by Larry David Wilson and Louis Porras. Lawrence: University of Kansas: 1983. ENG url p. 27, p. 28, p. 67, p. 80.
• The frog book; North American toads and frogs, with a study of the habits and life histories of those of the northeastern states. New York, Doubleday, Page & company, 1906. ENG url p. 135, p. 148, p. 149, p. 151, p. 24, p. 253, p. 39, p. 47.
• The hylid frogs of Middle America / William E. Duellman. [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1970. ENG url p. 482, p. 691.
• The transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis. St. Louis: The Academy, 1860-1958. ENG url p. 108, p. 14, p. 253.
• Transactions of the Academy of Science of Saint Louis. [St. Louis, Academy of Science of St. Louis] ENG url p. 14, p. 19, p. 253.
• Tulane studies in zoology. New Orleans, Tulane University. ENG url p. 23.
• University of Kansas publications, Museum of Natural History. Lawrence, University of Kansas. ENG url p. 356.
• Zoogeography. A symposium presented on August 26-27, 1957 [under the prime auspices of the Pacific Section of the Society of Systematic Zoology] at the Stanford University joint meeting of the American Institute of Washington, 1958. ENG url p. 462.
• Zoologische Jahrbücher. Jena [Germany]: G. Fischer, GER url p. 217.
• Zoologischer Anzeiger. Jena, VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag. GER url p. 193.
• Zoologisches Zentralblatt. Leipzig: W. Engelmann, [1903-1912] GER url p. 112.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 21, 2007.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 29, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 7 providers.
• Hammerson, G. & Hedges, B. 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Pippen, Jeffrey S. Jeff's Nature Page. Accessed December 8, 2007.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 29, 2008:

• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Amphibian and Reptile Collection - Anura
• Carnegie Museums: Amphibians and Reptiles
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB: Paleobiology Database
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• Sternberg Museum of Natural History: Herp Collection
• Yale University Peabody Museum: Peabody Herp Collection DiGIR provider Service

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2475537
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-173504
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 173504
• IUCN ID: 55662
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: AAABC02120
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 327

Footnotes

1. Hammerson, G. & Hedges, B. 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008. [back]

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