The California tree frog or California chorus frog (''Pseudacris cadaverina'') is a "true"

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia suborder have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not clos ...

(family

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as " tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and ...

) from southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

(USA) and

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

(Mexico). Until recently, the California tree frog was classified in the genus ''

Hyla ''Hyla'' is a genus of frogs in the tree frog family Hylidae. As traditionally defined, it was a wastebasket genus with more than 300 species found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and across the Americas. After a major revision of the family, most of t ...

''.

Description

It is a cryptically colored species of

, often resembling granitic stones. It is grey or light brown on its dorsum with darker blotches, and has a whitish venter. It is yellow on the undersides of its legs, groin, and lower abdomen; males of the species have a dusky-yellow throat. The California tree frog has conspicuous toe webbing and pads, and its dorsal skin is roughened and warty. It is long.

Habitat and conservation

This species is most likely to occur along streams with abundant boulders and cobbles in their channels. Its distribution is spotty and localized. These frogs are easily handled. California tree frog is not considered threatened by

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

: it is a relatively common species with broad distribution, and there are no major threats, except perhaps UV radiation that reduces embryonic survival. Another possible threat to this frog species is habit fragmentation which could contribute to a lack of genetic diversity throughout populations in different areas.

Origin

Genetic evidence from over 200 individual members of the species, collected from locations across multiple of California's unique biomes, suggests that these frogs originated at the eastern end of the Transverse Ranges. The same research found that the California tree frogs' genetic foundation dates back to Pleistocene Epoch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:California Tree Frog Chorus frogs Amphibians of Mexico Amphibians of the United States Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Least concern biota of North America Amphibians described in 1866 Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope