Gray Treefrogs are an inch and quarter to 2 inches long. Visually, the Gray Treefrog cannot be distinguished from the Cope's Gray Treefrog. They are usually gray or green with irregular markings on the back. They have a white spot under the eye, warty skin and a yellowish-orange surface under of their thighs.
The call of the Gray is a short high trill. It is slower and a little more musical than the Cope's Gray Treefrog. However, only through careful examination of their chromosomes can one truly be distinguished from the other.
They are extremely well camouflaged against the bark of trees. They inhabit all elevations of wooded areas most often near water in a wide variety of habitats. Since they forage in the tree canopy they are rarely seen except during breeding season.
Though the Gray Treefrog and Cope's Gray Treefrog are closely related and have ranges that over lap they do not interbreed. A female responds only to the call of the male of her species.
Scientists believe that the Gray Treefrog evolved from the Cope's Gray Treefrog during the last Ice Age when an isolated population began passing on a second set of chromosomes.
1 comment:
Nice shots. Every now and then these little frogs make their way into my shop...maybe they like the cool concrete floor, at any rate I have almost accidentally stepped on them a number of times!
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