Tree frog

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Tree frogs
Red-eyed Tree Frog, Agalychnis callidryas
Red-eyed Tree Frog, Agalychnis callidryas
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hylidae
Rafinesque, 1815
Genera
See text.

Tree frogs are frogs of the family Hylidae. They are of small size, more elegant in form than the true frogs Ranidae, of brighter colors, and more active habits. They feed on insects, which they pursue on the branches of shrubs and trees.

The European tree frogs (for instance Hyla arborea) are common in the middle and south of the continent, and range into Asia and the north of Africa. The species become very noisy on the approach of rain, and are sometimes kept in confinement as a kind of barometer.

In North America there are many common species of tree frog, including Hyla versicolor, a species of gray treefrog, and Hyla cinerea, the green tree frog. The spring peeper is also widespread in the eastern United States and commonly heard on summer and spring evenings.

The tree toad is a popular name for several of the Hylidae. Used without a qualifying epithet, it is equivalent to tree frog. With a qualifying epithet, it is limited to particular species. Hyla versicolor is the changeable tree toad, Trachycephalus lichenatus is the lichened, and T. marmoratus the marbled tree toad.

Classification

The family of the tree frogs is subdivided in four subfamilies and 37-39 genera.

  • Pelodryadinae (Austro-Papuan tree frogs)
    • Cyclorana
    • Litoria
    • Nyctimystes
  • Phyllomedusinae (Leaf frogs)
    • Agalychnis
    • Hylomantis
    • Pachymedusa
Hyla versicolor, the grey treefrog
Hyla versicolor, the grey treefrog
    • Phasmahyla
    • Phrynomedusa
    • Phyllomedusa
  • Hemiphractinae
    • Cryptobatrachus
    • Flectonotus
    • Gastrotheca
    • Hemiphractus
    • Stefania
  • Hylinae
Stoney Creek Frog (Litoria wilcoxi)
Stoney Creek Frog (Litoria wilcoxi)
    • Acris
    • Anotheca
    • Aparasphenodon
    • Aplastodiscus
    • Argenteohyla
    • Corythomantis
    • Duellmanohyla
    • Hyla
Japanese Tree Frog (Hyla japonica)
Japanese Tree Frog (Hyla japonica)
    • Lysapsus
    • Nyctimantis
    • Osteocephalus
    • Osteopilus
    • Phrynohyas
    • Phyllodytes
    • Plectrohyla
    • Pseudacris
    • Pseudis
    • Pternohyla
    • Ptychohyla
    • Scarthyla
    • Scinax
    • Smilisca
    • Sphaenorhynchus
    • Tepuihyla
    • Trachycephalus
    • Triprion
    • Xenohyla
Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_frog"
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