Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic.
Hyla is a genus of frogs in the tree frog family Hylidae. As traditionally defined, it was a wastebasket genus with more than 300 species found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and across the Americas. After a major revision of the family, most of these have been moved to other genera so that Hyla now only contains 17 extant (living) species from Europe, northern Africa and Asia. The earliest known fossil member of this genus is †Hyla swanstoni from the Eocene of Saskatchewan, Canada, but its designation to Hyla happened before the major revision, meaning that its position needs confirmation.
Agalychnis callidryas, commonly known as the red-eyed tree frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is native to forests from Central America to north-western South America. This species is known for its bright coloration, namely its vibrant green body with blue and yellow stripes on the side. It has a white underside, brightly red and orange colored feet, and is named after its distinctive bright red eyes.
Spikethumb frogs are a genus (Plectrohyla) of frogs in the family Hylidae found in Central America from southern Mexico through Guatemala and northern El Salvador to central and northern Honduras. A major revision of the Hylidae moved an additional 21 species to this genus from the genus Hyla. The additional species moved to Plectrohyla were identified as the Hyla bistincta group, also called the Plectrohyla bistincta group; a separate group from the initial Plectrohyla guatemalensis group. This phylogenetic classification was later revised by moving the Plectrohyla bistincta group from the genus Plectrohyla into a new genus called Sarcohyla. Meanwhile, the guatemalensis group remained in Plectrohyla. They are called spikethumb because of the spike on their thumbs, which is called a prepollex. The genus name comes from the Greek word plēktron ("spur") and hyla.
The northern cricket frog is a species of small hylid frog native to the United States and northeastern Mexico. These frogs are majorly in grey, green, and brown color with blotching patterns. Many have a brown or orange stripe down the center of their back and a triangular marking on the top of their head. Despite being members of the tree frog family, they are not arboreal. These frogs prefer habitats near the edges of slow-moving bodies of water, and in close proximity to shelter items, like rocks. It has two recognized subspecies, A. c. crepitans and A. c. paludicola.
The southern cricket frog or southeastern cricket frog is a small hylid frog native to the Southeastern United States. It is very similar in appearance and habits to the northern cricket frog, Acris crepitans, and was considered formerly conspecific. The scientific name Acris is from the Greek word for locust, and the species name gryllus is Latin for cricket.
Gryllus bimaculatus is a species of cricket in the subfamily Gryllinae. Most commonly known as the two-spotted cricket, it has also been called the "African" or "Mediterranean field cricket", although its recorded distribution also includes much of Asia, including China and Indochina through to Borneo. It can be discriminated from other Gryllus species by the two dot-like marks on the base of its wings.
Frank Nelson Blanchard was an American herpetologist, and professor of zoology at the University of Michigan from which institution he received his Ph.D. He is credited with describing several new subspecies, including the broad-banded water snake, Nerodia fasciata confluens, and the Florida king snake, Lampropeltis getula floridana. As well, he has been honored by having reptiles and amphibians named after him, including the western smooth green snake, Opheodrys vernalis blanchardi, and Blanchard's cricket frog, Acris crepitans blanchardi.
The emerald-eyed tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is largely restricted to the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil. Some populations previously regarded as Boana crepitans have been separated into the species Boana xerophylla and Boana platanera.
Phrynobatrachus acridoides is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is widely distributed in the lowlands of eastern Africa, from Kenya and southern Somalia in the north and southward to Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe, and easternmost South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal). Its range might extend into Eswatini in the south and westward to Uganda and Zambia. This widespread species has also many vernacular names: East African puddle frog, small puddle frog, eastern puddle frog, Zanzibar puddle frog, Zanzibar river frog, Mababe toad-frog, and Cope's toad-frog. It is morphologically and genetically most similar to Phrynobatrachus pakenhami, its sister species. However, the specific name acridoides appears to refer to its superficial similarity to the North American cricket frog Acris gryllus, of no close relation.
A mating call is the auditory signal used by animals to attract mates. It can occur in males or females, but literature is abundantly favored toward researching mating calls in females. In addition, mating calls are often the subject of mate choice, in which the preferences of one gender for a certain type of mating call can drive sexual selection in a species. This can result in sympatric speciation of some animals, where two species diverge from each other while living in the same environment.
Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms, "crickets" were placed at the family level, but contemporary authorities including Otte now place them in the superfamily Grylloidea. The word has been used in combination to describe more distantly related taxa in the suborder Ensifera, such as king crickets and mole crickets.
Blanchard's cricket frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is a small, dark colored frog that is threatened or endangered in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Studies have been done to see why the population of the frog is beginning to decrease in those states. Blanchard's cricket frogs are commonly found in wetlands, ponds, and/or near row crop agriculture. The average life span for this frog is about one year, which is why the species is considered to be short-lived. Little is known about the interactions and basic ecology, even though populations are decreasing. Blanchard's cricket frog was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the northern cricket frog.
Sexual selection in amphibians involves sexual selection processes in amphibians, including frogs, salamanders and newts. Prolonged breeders, the majority of frog species, have breeding seasons at regular intervals where male-male competition occurs with males arriving at the waters edge first in large number and producing a wide range of vocalizations, with variations in depth of calls the speed of calls and other complex behaviours to attract mates. The fittest males will have the deepest croaks and the best territories, with females making their mate choices at least partly based on the males depth of croaking. This has led to sexual dimorphism, with females being larger than males in 90% of species, males in 10% and males fighting for groups of females.
Malcolm L. McCallum is an American environmental scientist, conservationist, herpetologist, and natural historian and is known for his work on the Holocene Extinction. He is also a co-founder of the herpetology journal, Herpetological Conservation and Biology. He is a key figure in amphibian biology and his research has produced numerous landmark studies. His work has been covered by David Attenborough, Discover Magazine, and other media outlets.
Acrisinae is a subfamily of the tree frog family Hylidae. There are only two genera in this subfamily, Acris and Pseudacris. They are native to most of the Nearctic realm, and are found as far north as the Great Slave Lake in Canada, all across the United States, and down Baja California and some parts of northern Mexico. One species, the pacific tree frog, has been introduced to several locations outside its range, and it is possible that other species may have been as well.
