Pinewoods Treefrog - Hyla femoralis
Morse Code
Description & Identification:
Small, reaching 1.75" (45mm). Usually a rich brown color with dark irregular dorsal blotches and a dark bar between eyes, but may be gray to light green; silvery to yellow window-like blotches on rear (inside) of thighs. Skin smooth. Toe pads small; webbing of rear toes short. Must be captured for positive identification because of similarities with other common treefrogs.
Development:
Each female may lay up to 500 eggs, in gelatinous strands about 4 to 6 inches long that may clump into loose masses; eggs brown and cream. Tadpoles reach 0.8-1.2" (20-30mm); upper part dark olive or greenish black; throat and area under eyes are purple, as are the sides of belly; center of the belly is sulfur yellow; throat is white with a few black flecks. Very young have creamy white ring extending from below the eye back along the body. Muscular part of tail a deep salmon pink with white on lower half. Upper and lower fins are wide and the lower may have large dark spots. Metamorphose in 1-2 months.
Habitat & Behaviors:
Commonly found high in trees of pine flatwoods and cypress swamps as well as around houses with insect attracting lights; may also be found low on shrubs and stumps and around lakes and ponds. Although commonly a rich reddish-brown coloration that blends well among pine bark, it may occasionally change to gray or greenish gray.
Similar Species:
Orange phase of spring peepers have distinct "X" mark across back; squirrel treefrogs, often calling in the same pools, lack thigh markings; gray treefrogs have a bright orange-yellow wash on rear (inside) of thighs; green treefrogs have distinct stripes along sides.
Voice Call:
Breeding call is raspy, somewhat like a telegraph message in morse code; late April through early September. Rain call, before and after rains, is a slower version of breeding call, sounding like a distant chattering squirrel.
This frog has been observed at the following locations. Click on the map to view the data.
