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