page_title: Cope's gray tree frog
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Cope's gray tree frog / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis. Location: Durham, North Carolina, United States. (The visually identical Hyla versicolor is not reported from this area. Reference: Bernard S. Martof et al. (1980). Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807842524.)
context_page_description: Cope's gray tree frog, also called the southern gray tree frog is a species of tree frog found in the United States. It is almost indistinguishable from the gray tree frog, and shares much of its geographic range. Both species are variable in color, mottled gray to gray-green, resembling the bark of trees. These are tree frogs of woodland habitats, though they will sometimes travel into more open areas to reach a breeding pond. The only readily noticeable difference between the two species is the mating call — Cope's has a faster-paced and slightly higher-pitched call than D. versicolor. In addition, D. chrysoscelis is reported to be slightly smaller, more arboreal, and more tolerant of dry conditions than D. versicolor.
context_section_description: Both D. chrysoscelis and D. versicolor have black-marked bright orange to yellow patches on their hind legs, which distinguishes them from other tree frogs, such as D. avivoca. The bright-yellow pattern is normally hidden, but exposed when the frog leaps. This "flash pattern" likely serves to startle a predator as the frog makes its escape. Similar hidden bright patterns are common in various Lepidoptera, for instance moths of the genus Catocala. Both species of gray tree frogs are slightly sexually dimorphic. Males have black or gray throats in the breeding season, while the throats of the females are lighter.
  Skin secretions from this species may be irritating or toxic to mouth, eyes, other mucous membranes.
caption: Showing variation in color
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