Hylidae

Hylidae is a family of tree frogs. Some of the Hylids are semi-aquatic, and others are terrestrial frogs.

Hylidae Temporal range: Paleocene – recent
Red-eyed Tree Frog, Agalychnis callidryas
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Hylidae Rafinesque, 1815
Genera
See text.
Distribution of Hylidae (in black)

Characteristics

Most hylids have forward-facing eyes that gives them binocular vision. These hylids are arboreal species, meaning they live in trees. Non-arboreal species do not have any of these advantages. The Cyclorana species are burrowing frogs. They spend most of their time underground. Hylids will eat insects and other invertebrates. Larger species can eat small vertebrates.

Hylids lay their eggs in ponds. Some lay their eggs in puddles that in holes inside trees. Others lay their eggs on plants, if water is near. The tadpoles will drop from the plants and into the pond when they hatch. In South America, female hylids carry the eggs on their backs until they hatch.

Species

The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) lives in middle and Southern Europe. They can also be found in Asia and North Africa. These species are noisy during rainstorms. Many Hylidae live in North America, for example Hyla versicolor (Grey Tree Frog) and Hyla cinerea (American Green Tree Frog). The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) can also be found in the eastern United States. The spring peeper makes loud noises during the spring and summer.

The word "tree frog" is a popular term for many Hylidae. For example, Hyla versicolor is the name of the changeable tree frog, Trachycephalus lichenatus is the name of the lichened tree frog, and Trachycephalus marmoratus is the marbled tree frog. However, the name "tree frog" is not unique to this family. "Tree frog" is used more often for many species in Rhacophoridae.

Taxonomy

Hyla versicolor, North American gray treefrog

Litoria wilcoxi, Stoney Creek Frog

Hyla japonica, Japanese Tree Frog

Phyllomedusa sauvagii, Waxy Monkey Leaf Frog

The Hylidae family is divided into the following subfamilies and genera:

Hylidae

• Subfamily Pelodryadinae (Austro-Papuan tree frogs)
  • Litoria
  • Nyctimystes
  • Pelodryas
• Subfamily Phyllomedusinae (Leaf frogs)
  • Agalychnis
  • Cruziohyla
  • Hylomantis – Rough Leaf Frogs
  • Pachymedusa – Mexican Leaf Frogs
  • Phasmahyla – Shining Leaf Frogs
  • Phrynomedusa – Colored Leaf Frogs
  • Phyllomedusa
• Subfamily Hylinae
  • Acris – Cricket Frogs
  • Anotheca – Spiny-headed Treefrogs
  • Aparasphenodon – Casque-headed Frogs
  • Aplastodiscus – Canebreak Treefrogs
  • Argenteohyla – Argentinian Frogs
  • Atlantihyla - Stream Frogs
  • Boana – Gladiator Frogs
  • Bokermannohyla
  • Bromeliohyla
  • Charadrahyla
  • Corythomantis – Casque-headed Treefrog
  • Dendropsophus
  • Duellmanohyla – Brook Frogs
  • Ecnomiohyla – Fringed Treefrogs or Marvelous Frogs
  • Exerodonta
  • Hyla – Common Treefrogs
  • Hyloscirtus
  • Isthmohyla
  • Itapotihyla
  • Lysapsus
  • Megastomatohyla
  • Myersiohyla
  • Nyctimantis – Brown-eyed Treefrogs
  • Osteocephalus – Slender-legged Treefrogs
  • Osteopilus – Cuban Treefrogs
  • Phyllodytes – Heart-tongued Frogs
  • Plectrohyla – Spike-thumb Frogs
  • Pseudacris – Chorus Frogs
  • Pseudis – Swimming Frogs
  • Ptychohyla – Stream Frogs
  • Scarthyla – Madre de Dios Treefrogs
  • Scinax – Snouted Treefrogs
  • Smilisca – Burrowing Frogs
  • Sphaenorhynchus – Lime Treefrogs
  • Tepuihyla – Amazon Treefrogs
  • Tlalocohyla
  • Trachycephalus – Casque-headed Treefrogs
  • Triprion – Shovel-headed Treefrogs
  • Xenohyla

References

• This article incorporates text from the Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921).

Other websites

• Amphibian Species of the World
• http://www.tolweb.org/Hylidae Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
• AmphibiaWeb - Hylidae
• http://www.floridanature.org/family.asp?family=Hylidae Archived 2017-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
• Region 4 - Home
• Welcome livingunderworld.org - Hostmonster.com