| Barking tree frog | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Hylidae |
| Genus: | Dryophytes |
| Species: | D. gratiosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Dryophytes gratiosus (LeConte, 1856) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Dryophytes gratiosus, commonly known as the barking tree frog, is a species of tree frog endemic to the south-eastern United States. Formerly known as Hyla gratiosa. [2]
It is found from Delaware to southern Florida and eastern Louisiana, usually in coastal areas. There are also some isolated colonies in Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee. A temporary population was found in New Jersey in 1957. [3]
Dryophytes gratiosus is the largest native tree frog in the United States, acquiring its name from the raucous and explosive call. [4] It is 5 to 7 cm (2.0 to 2.8 in) in head-body length. [5] It is variable in color, but easily recognizable due to the characteristic dark, round markings on its dorsum. Individuals may be bright or dull green, brown, yellowish, or gray in color with small, grey and green-yellow spots. It has prominent, round toe pads, and the male has a large vocal sac. Dryophytes gratiosus has skin that is unlike any other species of American frog. [4] Its skin is neither rough and warty nor smooth, having skin that is thick and leathery. Its skin can also shift colors depending on lighting, time of day, temperature, or its surroundings. [5] Changes in color can be rapid and the spots can seem to disappear and reappear over time. [4] The eyes of Dryophytes gratiosus are brown, gold, and black.
The barking tree frog is known for its loud, strident, barking call. It may also utter a repetitive single-syllable mating call. The calls of the barking tree frog sound like a church bell and have been described as "tonk" and "doonk". [6] It has been known to chorus with other frogs of the same and similar species. Furthermore, during mating, a female D. gratiosus is more likely to pick an attractive mating call unless if it is more than five meters away. [7] Male mating success is positively correlated with chorus attendance however limitations from energy costs reduce the length of time that the males will call in chorus. They slowly become in poorer condition until they either die or leave the pond to replenish their energy requirements. [8]
The barking tree frog burrows in the sand, especially when the temperature is hot. It also spends time high up in trees, especially during the day when it is less active.
Adult Dryophytes gratiosus usually live in trees or bushes. They can also burrow deep into mud and logs for added protection from predators. [9] Barking treefrogs need shallow, semi-permanent pools with open canopies or ponds dominated by grasses, which have at least some open water for suitable breeding habitat. [10]
Male barking tree frogs will move down from the treetops and make their way to a nearby pond in the evenings. [11] This movement is associated with the need to breed, and females soon make their way to the pond as well. After breeding has taken place, barking tree frogs will go back to the forest to occupy the trees. The barking treefrog has the ability to travel long distances if they are not successful in finding a mate in one wetland, but for the most part they stay in the same general area and only really move during the mating season. [12]
Dryophytes gratiosus is a polygynous species, the female choosing the male on the basis of his call. They use multiple call characteristics concurrently to select a mate and can be quite choosy. [13] One study researched that for the males to win over a female, the males will arrive at the breeding ponds earlier in the night. The study goes on to present forth the evidence that the males who arrive earlier have a higher probability of mating than the males that arrived late. [14] Females however will generally use call amplitude and frequency to select a mate, as these characteristics correlate to body size. [15] So females do look at the duration as well as call rate when picking a mate, and it isn’t just as simple as whoever has the longer call or calls more frequently. [16] Females will choose the right mate with greater amplitude. These females will use triangulation. Triangulation is used to find a male's location by his call, finding others around the male, and to assess the distance between them. [17] Males remain still while calling until the female initiates amplexus by nudging the male. [18] The barking tree frog, reproduces aquatically but migrates to land to lay their eggs. Breeding typically occurs over two or three months, the months differing depending on the location. In Kentucky, Dryophytes gratiosus usually breads between mid June to late July, April to July in North Carolina and Alabama, and March to August in Louisiana and Florida. [19] Most male Dryophytes gratiosus have been reported calling in an inflated condition at the surface of shallow water, usually among aquatic vegetation. [20] After mating, both sexes move inland to higher grasses. Females lay anywhere from 1,500 and 4,000 eggs at a time. [19] When these eggs hatch, grow into tadpoles, or the tailed larva of an amphibian. Tadpoles can be nearly 5 cm (2.0 in) in length.
Sometimes people get the Barking Treefrog and the American Green Treefrog confused morphologically as well as acoustically, [21] and one study recorded occasional hybridization with Dryophytes cinereus. [22] Though the two species are genetically compatible enough to mate, the hybrids they produce are at a disadvantage. [23] The hybrids of barking treefrogs and green treefrogs are usually less fit and are not normally chosen by non-hybrid females of either species for mating.
According to the ICUN Red List, Dryophytes gratiosus is of the status of Least Concern as of March 2019. [24]
Through research studies it was learned that agriculture landscapes show the biggest threats to this species and amphibians in general, and juvenile amphibians feel the worst of the effects of the agricultural industry. [25]
The American bullfrog, often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is a large true frog native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, ponds, and lakes. Bullfrogs can also be found in manmade habitats such as pools, koi ponds, canals, ditches and culverts. The bullfrog gets its name from the sound the male makes during the breeding season, which sounds similar to a bull bellowing. The bullfrog is large and is commonly eaten throughout its range, especially in the southern United States where they are plentiful.
The spring peeper is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern United States and Canada. It prefers permanent ponds due to its advantage in avoiding predation; however, it is very adaptable with respect to the habitat it can live in. In northern regions, the frog is able to endure below freezing temperatures due to the capacity of its liver to exude and flush the bloodstream with a glucose cryoprotectant which acts both as an anti-freeze in its blood, and allows organs like the heart to enter into a state of protected dormancy. The peeper earned its name from its chirping call, which marks the beginning of spring. Crucifer is derived from the Latin root meaning "cross-bearing", a reference to the cross-like pattern on the spring peeper's dorsal side.
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 one of the most recognizable frogs. 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. One particular and special feature of the frogs coloration is its exceptional high reflectance in the near-infrared.
The American green tree frog is a common arboreal species of New World tree frog belonging to the family Hylidae. This nocturnal insectivore is moderately sized and has a bright green to reddish-brown coloration. Commonly found in the central and southeastern United States, the frog lives in open canopy forests with permanent water sources and abundant vegetation. The American green tree frog is strictly aquatic during the hibernating and mating seasons. When defending its territory, the frog either emits aggressive call signals or resolves to grapple with intruders, seldom leading to injury or death. To avoid predation, the frog will leap into the water or jump into the treetops.
Hyla japonica, commonly known as the Japanese tree frog, is a species of anuran native to Japan, China, and Korea. H. japonica is unique in its ability to withstand extreme cold, with some individuals showing cold resistance at temperatures as low as −30 °C for up to 120 days. H. japonica are not currently facing any notable risk of extinction and are classified by the IUCN as a species of "least concern". Notably, H. japonica have been sent to space in a study that explored the effect of microgravity on H. japonica. Hyla japonica is synonymous with Dryophytes japonicus.
The Pacific tree frog, also known as the Pacific chorus frog, has a range spanning the Pacific Northwest, from Northern California, Oregon, and Washington to British Columbia in Canada and extreme southern Alaska. They live from sea level to more than 10,000 feet in many types of habitats, reproducing in aquatic settings. They occur in shades of greens or browns and can change colors over periods of hours and weeks.
The gray treefrog is a species of small arboreal holarctic tree frog native to much of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.
Cope's gray treefrog is a species of treefrog found in the United States and Canada. It is almost indistinguishable from the gray treefrog, and shares much of its geographic range. Both species are variable in color, mottled gray to gray-green, resembling the bark of trees. These are treefrogs of woodland habitats, though they will sometimes travel into more open areas to reach a breeding pond. The only readily noticeable difference between the two species is the mating call — Cope's has a faster-paced and slightly higher-pitched call than D. versicolor. In addition, D. chrysoscelis is reported to be slightly smaller, more arboreal, and more tolerant of dry conditions than D. versicolor.
The Pine Barrens tree frog is a species of New World tree frog. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss.
The squirrel tree frog 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.
The canyon tree frog is a species of tree frog native to the rocky plateau areas of southern United States, primarily in New Mexico and Arizona, but it also ranges to Utah, Texas, and Colorado, and as far south as the Mexican states of Michoacán, México, Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Oaxaca.
Dendropsophus ebraccatus, also known as the hourglass treefrog, referring to the golden-brown hourglass shape seen surrounded by skin yellow on its back. Their underbellies are yellow. Their arms and lower legs usually display bold patterns while their upper legs or thighs are light yellow giving them the appearance of wearing no pants. The species name "ebraccata" translates to "without trousers" in Latin.
The bird-voiced tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae, endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, shrub-dominated wetlands, and swamps.
The pine woods tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae, endemic to the southeastern United States.
The Italian tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae, found in Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, and possibly San Marino. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, and urban areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Panama cross-banded tree frog or pug-nosed tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae found in the humid Pacific lowlands of southwestern Costa Rica to eastern Panama and in the Caribbean lowlands of Panama and northern Colombia. Males of the species utilize synchronous calling to hide their position from predators. Females create basins during amplexus and deposit fertilized eggs onto the surface of the water.
Ecnomiohyla rabborum, commonly known as Rabbs' fringe-limbed treefrog, is a possibly extinct species of frog in the family Hylidae. They were relatively large frogs that inhabited the forest canopies of central Panama. Like other members of the genus Ecnomiohyla, they were capable of gliding by spreading their enormous and fully webbed hands and feet during descent. The males of the species were highly territorial and would guard water-filled tree holes used for breeding. They were also the ones responsible for guarding and caring for the young, including providing food. They were the only known species of frog where the tadpoles derived nutrition by feeding on the skin cells of their fathers.
Dryophytes suweonensis, the Suweon treefrog or Suwon treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae endemic to the Korean Peninsula probably from the Imjin River to the Mangyeong River, south of Iksan. Its distribution and population have been assessed to be below 800 individuals and the status of the species has been updated as Endangered by the IUCN. The natural habitat of the species has been generally transformed into rice fields and it is threatened by habitat loss.
Data related to Hyla gratiosa at Wikispecies 
Media related to Hyla gratiosa at Wikimedia Commons
