- Kathleen Scavone
- Posted On
The Living Landscape: Pacific tree frog, or it's not easy being green
"Old dark sleepy pool...
Quick unexpected frog
Goes plop! Watersplash!”
- Matsuo Basho, Japanese Haiku
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – One of our local amphibians, a little frog, has some confusion surrounding his name.
Biologists have been arguing about the dainty 2-inch critter's moniker for some time.
Some call them Pacific chorus frogs, while others believe they should be named Pacific tree frogs.
It all stems back to some fellows by the names of Baird and Girard, who, in 1852 put them in the Hyla genus, calling them Pacific chorus frogs.
Prior to that, in 1843 a chap called Fitzinger added them to the genus Pseudacris, and named them Pacific tree frogs.
To add to the confusion, in 2006 Recuero et al divided the frog into three separate species.
Today, The Amphibian Species of the World confirms this split, but calls the diminutive creature a Pacific tree frog.
Sheesh, it's not easy being green or, in the case of a Pacific tree frog, any variety of colors, like brown, tan, black or reddish with dark marks splashed over them.
Pacific tree frogs are good at camouflage, and modify their colors seasonally, much like a “fashionista” changes her wardrobe to suit the season.
These frogs sport long legs and circular, sticky toe pads which aid in climbing.
Pacific tree frogs can be found all of the way up the Pacific coast, from California to British Columbia. They were introduced to the Ketchikan, Alaska area in the 1960s.
Their habitat includes a variety of settings, such as lakes, streams, wooded areas, grasslands and even chaparral.
Newts and other amphibians consume the frogs – both in the adult stage, and their eggs.
The frogs mate in early winter, on into the beginning of springtime, when males migrate to water sources.
They call out their rousing ribbits to attract a female, then she lays her eggs in still water.
Pacific tree frogs, mostly nocturnal, live their lives hidden under everything from logs to leaf litter. When they emerge to hunt they dine on insects such as ants, spiders and flies.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.