Hyla versicolor

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AMPHIBIA	ANURA	HYLIDAE

Scientific Name:

Hyla versicolor

Species Authority:

LeConte, 1825

Common Name/s:

English

–

Gray Treefrog

Taxonomic Notes:

This species is not distinguished from the very similar Hyla chrysoscelis in most published literature; it is distinguished by chromosomes, erythrocyte size (Matson 1990), and call characteristics.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2004
Assessor/s:	Geoffrey Hammerson
Reviewer/s:	Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young)
Contributor/s:
Justification: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species' geographic range is not precisely determined, although it covers much of the eastern USA and southeastern Canada. It is sympatric with H. chrysoscelis in Wisconsin, south-central U.S., and probably many other areas. See Little et al. (1989) for distribution in West Virginia, southern Ohio, and southwestern Pennsylvania. See McAlpine et al. (1991) for information on distribution in eastern Maine and southwestern New Brunswick.
Countries:	Native: Canada; United States
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The total adult population size is unknown but it is abundant and probably stable.
Population Trend:	Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It inhabits various kinds of wooded and forested habitats. It is both arboreal and terrestrial. It hides in tree holes, under bark, in rotten logs, under leaves, and under tree roots when inactive. Eggs and larvae develop in shallow woodland ponds and marshes, puddles, ponds in forest clearings, swamps, bogs, and many other kinds of permanent or temporary waters lacking a significant current, including ponds created through excavation by humans. In northern Minnesota, successful reproduction in acidic bog water either does not occur or is a rare event (Karns 1992). In central Ontario, embryos and larvae exhibited high degree of acid tolerance (J. Herpetol. 26:1-6).
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

It inhabits various kinds of wooded and forested habitats. It is both arboreal and terrestrial. It hides in tree holes, under bark, in rotten logs, under leaves, and under tree roots when inactive. Eggs and larvae develop in shallow woodland ponds and marshes, puddles, ponds in forest clearings, swamps, bogs, and many other kinds of permanent or temporary waters lacking a significant current, including ponds created through excavation by humans. In northern Minnesota, successful reproduction in acidic bog water either does not occur or is a rare event (Karns 1992). In central Ontario, embryos and larvae exhibited high degree of acid tolerance (J. Herpetol. 26:1-6).

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This species is not threatened overall. Introduced bluegill sunfish might cause declines in larval tree frog abundance (Smith et al. 1999).

Major Threat(s):

This species is not threatened overall. Introduced bluegill sunfish might cause declines in larval tree frog abundance (Smith et al. 1999).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	No conservation measures are needed.

Conservation Actions:

No conservation measures are needed.

Citation:	Geoffrey Hammerson 2004. Hyla versicolor. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2013.
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