Frogs

Family: Hylidae

Tree frogs

These little frogs use their very distinctive call when the rain is due with a joyous clamour during a downpour and an eerie call thereafter.

At home they love lounging in the rose buds and blooms or using the 5000lt rainwater tank as a 'loudspeaker'

Tree frogs belong to the amphibian family Hylidae. This large family, ranging from North America to as far as Asia, has a number of different species, varying from the Poison Dart Frog to the Waxy Tree Frog.



Though there are many different types of tree frogs throughout the world, they have many qualities that bring them together to form one family. The most well-known feature of the tree frog's appearance is the round, sticky toe pads found on the ends of their feet which enable them to stick to the surfaces of trees and other plants because they are rough and are covered with a sticky secretion. Some tree frogs have claw-shaped fingers and toes, and most kinds have webbed hands, webbed feet, or both. 

Another common feature of these frogs is the black stripe that extends through their eye and down to their shoulder. Colors on tree frogs vary within the species. For example, tree frogs which live mainly in the water or on land are typically more of a dark shade of green, whereas the ones that live on both land and in water are a lighter green. However, many types of tree frogs have been known to change the color of their covering from a brown to a green color within minutes. This is mainly due to the change in environment and temperature. Still, the most indicating feature of these frogs is the y or v shape that forms between their eyes.

The male tree frogs are often smaller in size than the females which are able to grow up to 10 centimeters in length. Another feature that clearly separates the male from the female is the dark skin under covering its throat. The variation in color of this area is mainly caused by the croaking it does when giving a mating call.

As winter approaches, tree frogs burrow into the humus on the forest floor. Their tissues and body fluids are protected from freezing by glycerol, a type of alcohol made in the frogs' cells.


Tree frogs are noted for the loudness and variety of their mating calls, made only by the male. Most tree frogs lay their eggs in water. There is variety in their breeding habits, however, especially among tropical American species. Some lay their eggs on leaves overhanging water into which the tadpoles, or larvae, fall after hatching. The tadpoles of certain other species are carried from tree to stream on the back of the male frog. The female of some kinds carries her eggs in a pouch on her back, where they hatch and the tadpoles remain until they metamorphose.

Sources:

http://creationwiki.org/Tree_frog
http://animals.howstuffworks.com/amphibians/tree-frog-info.htm