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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