Giant Treefrog, Hypsiboas boans (Linnaeus, 1785). Photographed in the Arima Valley of Trinidad's Northern Range. This species has been previously placed in the genus Hyla. This is a huge treefrog, reaching a total length of 100-115 mm on Trinidad. Larger body sizes have been found in Central American populations. Males can often be heard calling from high in the vegetation along streams. They descend to the stream edge and hollow out a basin in a sandy or muddy area and call to attract a female. She deposits the eggs in the basin. When the stream floods the tadpoles are released from their nest.
The Neotropical Treefrog, Hypsiboas crepitans (Weid-Neuwied, 1824). Photographed in the Arima Valley, Trinidad. These two photos are the same individual a few minutes apart. Note the changing color. The species is widespread in the Neotropics and probably composed of several cryptic species. H. crepitans has been previously placed in the genus Hyla.
Hypsiboas crepitans (Weid-Neuwied, 1824). An amplexing pair from The Guanapo Valley of Trinidad. Note the color differences between these and the specimens in the photos above.
Spix's Treefrog, Hypsiboas geographica (Spix, 1824). Photographed near Rio Claro, Trinidad. It was not commonly encountered, and this animal was in a flooded pond that contained many hatchling caimans. The species is widespread in tropical South America east of the Andes. It has been placed in the genus Hyla in the past. The tadpoles of this frog form large, compact schools, that appear to be a large black blob swimming in a stream. This behavior probably offers protection from predators.
Color Change Tree Frog, Hypsiboas punctatus (Schneider, 1799). Photographed in Trindad. It inhabits seasonally flooded savannas and forest in from the Guianas, Venezuelas and Colombia southward through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, the Chaco of Paraguay, Argentina, it also occurs on the continental island of Trinidad. This species show dramatic color changes from night to day. At night it is a deep red color (top photo), and during the day it is lime green with yellow and purple spots (bottom photo).
