Hylidae

Hylidae is a family of tree frogs. Some of the Hylids are semi-aquatic, and others are terrestrial frogs.

 Characteristics 
Most hylids have forward-facing eyes that gives them binocular vision. These hylids are arboreal species, meaning they live in trees. Non-arboreal species do not have any of these advantages. The Cyclorana species are burrowing frogs. They spend most of their time underground. Hylids will eat insects and other invertebrates. Larger species can eat small vertebrates.

Hylids lay their eggs in ponds. Some lay their eggs in puddles that in holes inside trees. Others lay their eggs on plants, if water is near. The tadpoles will drop from the plants and into the pond when they hatch. In South America, female hylids carry the eggs on their backs until they hatch.

 Species 
The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) lives in middle and Southern Europe. They can also be found in Asia and North Africa. These species are noisy during rainstorms. Many Hylidae live in North America, for example Hyla versicolor (Grey Tree Frog) and Hyla cinerea (American Green Tree Frog). The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) can also be found in the eastern United States. The spring peeper makes loud noises during the spring and summer.

The word "tree frog" is a popular term for many Hylidae. For example, Hyla versicolor is the name of the changeable tree frog, Trachycephalus lichenatus is the name of the lichened tree frog, and Trachycephalus marmoratus is the marbled tree frog. However, the name "tree frog" is not unique to this family. "Tree frog" is used more often for many species in Rhacophoridae.

 Taxonomy 
The Hylidae family is divided into the following subfamilies and genera:
Hylidae
 Subfamily Pelodryadinae (Austro-Papuan tree frogs)
 Litoria
 Nyctimystes
 Pelodryas
 Subfamily Phyllomedusinae (Leaf frogs)
 Agalychnis
 Cruziohyla
 Hylomantis – Rough Leaf Frogs
 Pachymedusa – Mexican Leaf Frogs
 Phasmahyla – Shining Leaf Frogs
 Phrynomedusa – Colored Leaf Frogs
 Phyllomedusa
 Subfamily Hylinae
 Acris – Cricket Frogs
 Anotheca – Spiny-headed Treefrogs
 Aparasphenodon – Casque-headed Frogs
 Aplastodiscus – Canebreak Treefrogs
 Argenteohyla – Argentinian Frogs
 Atlantihyla - Stream Frogs
 Boana – Gladiator Frogs
 Bokermannohyla
 Bromeliohyla
 Charadrahyla
 Corythomantis – Casque-headed Treefrog
 Dendropsophus
 Duellmanohyla – Brook Frogs
 Ecnomiohyla – Fringed Treefrogs or Marvelous Frogs
 Exerodonta
 Hyla – Common Treefrogs
 Hyloscirtus
 Isthmohyla
 Itapotihyla
 Lysapsus
 Megastomatohyla
 Myersiohyla
 Nyctimantis – Brown-eyed Treefrogs
 Osteocephalus – Slender-legged Treefrogs
 Osteopilus – Cuban Treefrogs
 Phyllodytes – Heart-tongued Frogs
 Plectrohyla – Spike-thumb Frogs
 Pseudacris – Chorus Frogs
 Pseudis – Swimming Frogs
 Ptychohyla – Stream Frogs
 Scarthyla – Madre de Dios Treefrogs
 Scinax – Snouted Treefrogs
 Smilisca – Burrowing Frogs
 Sphaenorhynchus – Lime Treefrogs
 Tepuihyla – Amazon Treefrogs
 Tlalocohyla
 Trachycephalus – Casque-headed Treefrogs
 Triprion – Shovel-headed Treefrogs
 Xenohyla

 References 

 This article incorporates text from the Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921).

 Other websites 

 Amphibian Species of the World

 http://www.tolweb.org/Hylidae 
 AmphibiaWeb - Hylidae
 http://www.floridanature.org/family.asp?family=Hylidae 
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Category:Frogs