Pacific Treefrog or Pseudacris is from the Greek pseudes, meaning false or deceptive, and acris, from the Greek akris, meaning a locust. This name is presumably in reference to their voice. The species name regilla is from the Latin regillus, meaning regal or splendid. Pacific treefrogs can come in brown, gray, tan and other earth tones as well as. Their color can lighten or darken in a few minutes. The males have a noticeably darker throat, yellowish to dark brown in color.
Ten Facts about Pacific Treefrog
- The Pacific Tree Frog is able to grow the length of 5 cm long from snout to urostyle.
- Pacific tree frogs are most common on the pacific coast of California, Oregon and Washington, but they are found anywhere from Baja California all the way up to British Columbia.
- They can also be found upland in ponds, streams, lakes and some times even further away from water.
- The Pacific Tree Frog begins mating in early winter to early spring.
- The females lay their eggs in clumps of 10-90 and usually put them on and under vegetation and leaf litter in the pond.
- The Pacific Treefrog can change colour rapidly from light to dark, possibly in response to changes in temperature and humidity
- Tadpoles, or larvae, hatch within a week and metamorphosis may take up to 2 1/2 months.
- Their voice sounds like a loud, two-part "kreck-eck" with the last syllable rising in inflection serves as their advertisement call.
- A number of predators rely on the Pacific Treefrog as a food source, garter snakes being the most noteworthy.
- The Pacific Treefrog eats a wide variety of arthopods.
