Hyla cinerea -The American Green Tree Frog

This American Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea) was observed in the forrest within the Caw Caw Interpretive Center . It was caught on the forrest floor, camouflaged by the leaves. American Green Tree Frogs are arboreal creatures, meaning they live in the trees. This can be seen through this specimen's morphology. Its slender body and long and slim hind legs help it jump and move effectively on land as to escape predation. Its toe pads help to prevent it from falling from any tree that it climbs. Furthermore, it was found relatively close to a marsh. Because this species of frog has a biphasic life cycle-an aquatic larval period and a terrestrial adult period (as this one was), it needs to reside in a place where it can have a ready access to water during the mating season. The frog's sex was not determined. Observing this species was an especially memorable experience for me, as I was the one that first spotted and caught this frog. Furthermore, from this experience, I also learned how to properly hold the frog in a way that it would not harm it-grabbing it gently by the hind leg so that it would not be able to hop away.