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| Blanchard’s Cricket Frog, Acris crepitans blanchardi Harper, 1947. Photographed in Will County, Illinois, USA. Adults may reach 38 mm. Blanchard's Cricket Frog uses a variety of habitats that have shallow water. At one time it was probably the most common frog in the State of Illinois. They use shallow water, and are usually found on the ground at the edge of a body of water. For more Cricket and Chorus Frogs click on the Photo |
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| Giant Treefrog, Hypsiboas boans (Linnaeus, 1785). Photographed in the Arima Valley of Trinidad's Northern Range. For more photos and information on treefrogs in the genus Hypsiboas click on the photo. |
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| Green Treefrog, Hyla cinerea (Schneider, 1792). Photographed near Savanna, Georgia. These frogs use swamp forests, but also use the edges of almost any body of sluggish water that has bushes or trees at the perimeter. For more photos of North American treefrogs in the genus Hyla click on the photo. |
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| Small Headed Treefrog, Dendrosophus microcephala misera (Fouquette, 1968). Photographed in the Arima Valley, Trinidad. A savanna and forest-edge frog of the Orinoco Basin. This species has been placed in the genus Hyla until recently. It was common in secondary growth, often about a half a meter above the ground on the vegetation, and males would often fight by standing on their hind legs and grappling with each other. |
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| Peter's Minute Treefrog, Dendrosophus minuta (Peters, 1872), Arima Valley, Trinidad. Lowland Neotropics east of the Andes including Trinidad, Venezuela, and the Guyanas southward to Bolivia, Argentina, and Uruguay. This species has been placed in the genus Hyla until recently. It was relatively common in secondary growth forest and a calling male often was surrounded by satellite males waiting for a reproductive opportunity. |
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| Rivero's Miniscule Treefrog, Dendrosophus miniscula (Rivero, 1971). Photographed in southwest Trinidad. Also, it is found in Venezuela and the Guyanas to Brazil. This species has been placed in the genus Hyla in the past. It is a tiny frog, as the name suggests. Calling males were about 17 mm in length and turned reddish in color, but when not calling they were bright yellow. |
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| Mt. Tucuche Bromeliad Frog, Phyllodytes auratus (Boulenger, 1917). Photographed on Mt. Tucuche, Trinidad. P. auratus uses a giant bromeliad for shelter and reproduction. This species is endemic to Trinidad. The other species in the genus Phyllodytes come from Brazil, and the presence of this species on Trinidad may be evidence that the Amazon River once emptied into the Caribbean, where the Orinoco River does today. Phyllodytes auratus is not known to call, it has its jaws serrated into tooth-like structures, and it is extremely dorso-ventrally compressed (flattened). Presumably it spends its entire life (eggs, tadpole stage, and adult stage) in the bromeliad. These bromeliads support an interesting arboreal fauna that includes scorpions, cockroaches, crabs, and other invertebrates. The frog and bromeliad tend to be found above 800 m in elevation. |
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| The Trinidadian Leaf Nesting Frog, Phyllomedusa trinitatus Mertens, 1926. Photographed in the Arima Valley, Trinidad. Endemic to Trinidad and the Peninsula de Paria of Venezuela. Like its relatives this species deposits its eggs on leaves over hanging a body of water. The eggs are in a gelatinous mass and the leaf is often folded over to protect the eggs. Upon hatching the tadpoles drop into the water below. When observing this species in Trinidad it was apparent that not all nests are placed over water. For more photos and information on Neotropical Tree frogs in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae (genera Agalychis, Hylomantis Phyllomedusa) click on the photo. |
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| Trinidad Snouted Treefrog, Scinax rubra, is one of about 94 species of Neotropical treefrogs in the genus. It is a human commensal, and moves with incredible agility and speed. For more information and photos of snouted Treefrogs in the genus Scinax, click on the photo . |
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| The Mexican Treefrog, Smilisca baudinii. Photographed in Cayo, Belize. For more information and photos of Smilisca treefrogs click on the photo. |
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| Laurent's Irritating Treefrog, Trachycephalus venulosus (Laurent, 1768). Specimens photographed in Trinidad. The species is widespread in South America east of the Andes. Its skin secretions may cause humans eye and nose distress. It was previously placed in the genus Phrynohyas. T. venulosa is an explosive breeder, and after a heavy rain dozens of individuals may form very loud choruses that can be heard from great distances. It also will glide from arboreal perches. On several occasions I have had this frog land on the windshield of my car. |
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| The Paradox Frog, Pseudis paradoxa caribensis Gallardo, 1961. Photographed in southwest Trinidad. These highly aquatic frogs use shallow water with dense submergent vegetation. They call day and night, but are very difficult to approach during the day. The paradox of this species is that the adults are only 63-75 mm long, while the tadpoles are the largest known, reaching a total length of more than 250 mm. Sharon Emerson has suggested that the tadpoles grow to this huge size due to prolonged exposure to the hormone prolactin. The Paradox Frog has been previously placed in the families Leptodactylidae and Psuedidae. Molecular studies suggest it is part of the Hylidae radiation, and as such is now placed in this family. |
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| The family Hylidae is specious with at least 43 genera and 814 species. It is widely distributed in North, Middle, and South America and it is represented in Europe, northwestern Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and New Guinea. The greatest diversity is in the Western Hemisphere. Size ranges from the tiny (15 mm) to the giants (at 120 mm). Body form tends to be flattened and slender, with long legs, webbed feet, and expanded finger and toe tips. Most of these frogs are arboreal, or climb on other surfaces. But at least two genera are aquatic (Acris and Pseudis) and other genera tend to be fossorial (Pseudacris, Smilisca fodiens). Modes of reproduction are diverse in these mostly nocturnal frogs. |
