Green Tree Frog 40D0012626

Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea)

Kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Amphibia, order Anura, family Hylidae

The American green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) is a common species of New World tree frog belonging to the genus Hyla. It is a popular species of pet frog. The habitat of green tree frogs is usually near lakes, farm ponds, floodplain sloughs, cattail marshes or bald cypress swamps. They inhabit the southern United States and some areas to the north and west, including all of Florida, southern Georgia, Louisiana, Delaware, eastern Maryland and Virginia, eastern North and South Carolina, eastern Texas and areas extending along the Mississippi Valley to southern Illinois. They may possibly inhabit northeastern Mexico. This is a common backyard species that can often be seen at porch lights, where they may gather to look for insects to eat. During the day, the green tree frogs may be found resting on the plants beside the pond.

Green Tree Frog diet consist on what ever they can catch and swallow. Usually they will eat crickets, moths, flies and many types of worms. Green Tree Frogs can go 2 and 1/2 days without eating. Tadpoles in captivity eat boiled vegetables, such as cucumbers or lettuce.

The frog is medium-sized, up to 6 cm (2.5 inches). Their bodies are usually colored green with shades ranging from bright yellowish olive to lime green. The darkness of the color can change depending on lighting or temperature. There may be some small patches of gold or white. They may also have a white, pale yellow, or cream-colored line running from the jaw or upper lip to the groin. They have smooth skin and large toe pads. The abdomen is pale yellow to white. Males have wrinkled throats (indicating the vocal pouch) and are slightly smaller than females.

The mating season takes place from mid-April to mid-August. Females lay up to 400 eggs in shallow water, which attach to the roots of aquatic plants. Embryos hatch within a week and tadpoles transform between 55 to 63 days after hatching. Weather conditions influence breeding, which often takes place in rain. Indeed, the frogs are often seen during and after a rainstorm.

The green tree frog is the state amphibian of Georgia and Louisiana.

More info: [link]

Featured by the beautiful Nikki in her "Froggie Features" journal: [link] and news article: [link] .

Featured by the talented Lara in her "Frog Feature" journal: [link] .

I give ~DeviantHerps permission to display this deviation in their club gallery.