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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 have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely related to each other.
Millions of years of convergent evolution have resulted in very similar morphology even in species that are not very closely related.
Furthermore, tree frogs in seasonally arid environments have adapted an extra-epidermal layer of lipid and mucus as an evolutionary convergent response to accommodate the periodic dehydration stress.
As the name implies, these frogs are typically found in trees or other high-growing vegetation. They do not normally descend to the ground, except to mate and spawn, though some build foam nests on leaves and rarely leave the trees at all as adults.
Tree frogs are usually tiny as their weight has to be carried by the branches and twigs in their habitats. While some reach 10 cm (4 in) or more, they are typically smaller and more slender than terrestrial frogs. Tree frogs typically have well-developed discs at the finger and toe tips; the fingers and toes themselves, as well as the limbs, tend to be rather small, resulting in a superior grasping ability. The genus ''
File:Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor) (8716723960).jpg, Gray tree frog, ''Hyla versicolor'', Hylidae, eastern North America
File:Hyla cinerea (American Green Tree Frog).jpg, American green tree frog, ''Dryophytes cinereus'' or ''Hyla cinerea,'' Hylidae, central and southeastern United States
File:Polyp leucom M 050408 041 ipb.jpg, Common tree frog, ''Polypedates leucomystax'', Rhacophoridae, southern to eastern Asia
File:Cochranella pulverata 02.jpg,
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 have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely related to each other.
Millions of years of convergent evolution have resulted in very similar morphology even in species that are not very closely related.
Furthermore, tree frogs in seasonally arid environments have adapted an extra-epidermal layer of lipid and mucus as an evolutionary convergent response to accommodate the periodic dehydration stress. Description
As the name implies, these frogs are typically found in trees or other high-growing vegetation. They do not normally descend to the ground, except to mate and spawn, though some build foam nests on leaves and rarely leave the trees at all as adults.
Tree frogs are usually tiny as their weight has to be carried by the branches and twigs in their habitats. While some reach 10 cm (4 in) or more, they are typically smaller and more slender than terrestrial frogs. Tree frogs typically have well-developed discs at the finger and toe tips; the fingers and toes themselves, as well as the limbs, tend to be rather small, resulting in a superior grasping ability. The genus ''Chiromantis
''Chiromantis'' is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, commonly known as foam-nest frogs or foam-nest tree frogs. It contains species from the Sub-Saharan African tropics. Following the molecular genetic study by Chen and colleagues (2 ...
'' of the Rhacophoridae is most extreme in this respect: it can oppose two fingers to the other two, resulting in a vise-like grip.
Family
Tree frogs are members of these families or genera: * Hylidae, or "true" treefrogs, occur in the temperate to tropical parts of Eurasia north of the Himalayas,Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and the Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
.
* Rhacophoridae, or shrub frogs, are the treefrogs of tropical regions around the Indian Ocean: Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia east to Lydekker's line
Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was an English natural history, naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history.
Biography
Richard Lydekker was born at Tavistock Square in London. His father was Gerard ...
. A few also occur in East Asia.
* Centrolenidae, or glass frogs, are potentially closely related to hylids; these translucent frogs are native to Central and South America.
* Hyperoliidae, or reed frogs, are closely related to the burrowing Microhylidae; these small frogs are native to sub-Saharan Africa.
* ''Boophis
''Boophis'' is the only genus in the mantellid frog subfamily Boophinae. They are commonly known as bright-eyed or skeleton frogs. They show typical 'tree frog' traits, and are a good example of convergent evolution with morphologically simil ...
'' is a genus of highly arboreal frogs which evolved from the toxic terrestrial Mantellidae
The Mantellidae are a family of the order Anura. These frogs are endemic to the islands of Madagascar and Mayotte.
Systematics
The family Mantellidae is composed of three extremely ecologically diverse groups of frogs, divided into three sub ...
of Madagascar.
Gallery
Powdered glass frog
The powdered glass frog or Chiriqui glass frog (''Teratohyla pulverata'') is a frog species in the glass frog family (biology), family (Centrolenidae). The species is found from north-central Honduras south to northwestern Ecuador.Solís ''et al ...
, ''Cochranella pulverata'', Centrolenidae, Honduras to Ecuador
File:Vermicamaennlateral.jpg, Big-eyed tree frog
''Leptopelis vermiculatus'', also known as the peacock tree frog, Amani forest treefrog, or vermiculated tree frog, is a species of frog found in forest areas in Tanzania. Sometimes the common name big-eyed tree frog is used, but this may also r ...
, ''Leptopelis vermiculatus'', Hyperoliidae, Tanzania
File:Boophis albilabris 01.jpg, White-lipped bright-eyed frog
The white-lipped bright-eyed frog (''Boophis albilabris'') is a species of frog in the family Mantellidae.
It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane ...
, ''Boophis albilabris'', Mantellidae, Madagascar
File:PedostibesTuberculosus3.jpg, Malabar tree toad, ''Pedostibes tuberculosus'', Hyperoliidae, India
File:Tree frogs and rain 75 sec.wav, Sound of treefrogs in south Georgia, US (78 seconds)
References
Bibliography
*External links
{{amphibian-stub 01 Frogs Amphibian common names