



Pine Woods Treefrog - Hyla femoralis

- Diagnostic Features:
- Size: 1 to 1.5 inches (25 to 38 mm)
- Color:
- Deep reddish brown, but may also be gray or green at
times.
- Other:
- No white spot under eye.
- Dark markings on back
- Row of small orange, yellow or whitish spots on the rear
of the thigh (only seen in hand)

- Large toe pads present
- Natural History:
- Habitat:
- An aboreal acrobat that climbs high in the trees, but
also frequents lower levels, even the ground.
- Commonly found in pine flatwoods and in or near cypress
swamps or other water
- Behavior:
- It feeds on various insects.
- Breeding:
- Breeding occurs from March to October.
- Males may call individually just before dark.
- Calling is usually from up in vegetation (bushes, trees)
at edge of water, but may be from within things like grass
clumps at ground level.
- Eggs are laid in films of 100 to 125 eggs on the water's
surface or just below it on stems or other objects.
- Voice: Sonogram
: Call
( Clinch, & Tattnall Counties )
- The "dot and dash" frog.
- Morse code done with a snore, or machine gun like.
- Large chorus sounds like a series of riviting machines all
going at once.
- Tadpoles:
- Tadpole stage about 50 to 75 days
- Transformed size: 13 mm

- LTRF 2/3; narrow midventral gap in marginal papillae
absent; eyes lateral; Rocky Mountains and east; P-3 long,
P-2/P-3 ca. 1.0
- midventral marginal papillae biserial; dense patch of
submarginal papillae ventrolaterally; length of one side of A-
2/width of medial gap > 5.0; body more or less uniformly
brown or russet; basal two-thirds of tail muscle with prominent
pale lateral stripe that remains in preservative; fin areas
adjacent to tail muscle usually lacking or with less dense
aggregations of melanic blotches compared with remainder of
fin; clear parts of fins usually reddish in life; temporary
lentic sites throughout Coastal Plain from Mississippi River to
southeastern Virginia (geographic variations apparent = fins
much higher, differently shaped, and more brightly colored at
Tampa, Florida [central peninsula] and Crestview,
Florida [panhandle] with more prominent flagellum than
near Gulfport, Mississippi
- Range:
- In North America, this treefrog is found on the coastal
plain, southeast Virginia to south Florida and east
Louisiana.
- In Georgia, it is found below the fall line.


- In Light Blue:
Williamson, Gerald K. & Moulis, Robert A., Distribution of
Amphibians and Reptiles in Georgia, Special Publication No. 3,
Savannah Science Museum, Inc. Savannah, Georgia, 1994
- In Green: Sound
Recordings
- In Yellow: From Both
'94 study and Sound Recordings
- In Magenta: Photograph,
not found by '94, may or may not be sound record
- In Medium Blue:
Photograph and in '94 study, may or may not be sound
record
- In Orange: County Record by
other Herp Atlas Volunteers
- In Red: US Distribution
from various sources


September 9, 2006 - wwknapp@mindspring.com