Hylidae

Hylidae
Temporal range: 57–0 Ma Paleocene – recent[1]
Red-eyed Tree Frog, Agalychnis callidryas
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Amphibia
Order:
Anura
Family:
Hylidae

Genera

See text.

Distribution of Hylidae (in black)

Hylidae is a family of tree frogs. Some of the Hylids are semi-aquatic, and others are terrestrial frogs.

Characteristics

Most hylids have forward-facing eyes that gives them binocular vision. These hylids are arboreal species, meaning they live in trees. Non-arboreal species do not have any of these advantages. The Cyclorana species are burrowing frogs.[1] They spend most of their time underground. Hylids will eat insects and other invertebrates. Larger species can eat small vertebrates.

Hylids lay their eggs in ponds. Some lay their eggs in puddles that in holes inside trees. Others lay their eggs on plants, if water is near. The tadpoles will drop from the plants and into the pond when they hatch. In South America, female hylids carry the eggs on their backs until they hatch.[1]

Species

The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) lives in middle and Southern Europe. They can also be found in Asia and North Africa. These species are noisy during rainstorms. Many Hylidae live in North America, for example Hyla versicolor (Grey Tree Frog) and Hyla cinerea (American Green Tree Frog). The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) can also be found in the eastern United States. The spring peeper makes loud noises during the spring and summer.

The word "tree frog" is a popular term for many Hylidae. For example, Hyla versicolor is the name of the changeable tree frog, Trachycephalus lichenatus is the name of the lichened tree frog, and Trachycephalus marmoratus is the marbled tree frog. However, the name "tree frog" is not unique to this family. "Tree frog" is used more often for many species in Rhacophoridae.

Taxonomy

Hyla versicolor, North American gray treefrog
Litoria wilcoxi, Stoney Creek Frog
Hyla japonica, Japanese Tree Frog
Phyllomedusa sauvagii, Waxy Monkey Leaf Frog

The Hylidae family is divided into the following subfamilies and genera:

Hylidae

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Zweifel, Robert G. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 93–94. ISBN 978-0-12-178560-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  • This article incorporates text from the Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921).

Other websites

Wikispecies has information on: Hylidae.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hylidae.