Natural History: Squirrel Treefrogs

During the adventures at Stono Reserve, I expected to encounter a variety of reptiles and amphibians. One of the herpes that really intrigued me was tree frogs, as I generally associate them inhabiting mainly tropical areas. Funny enough, I noticed a few bright, green specks hopping around while I was scouring through the foliage. I immediately dropped my potato rake, dropped to knees, and reached out to grab as many as I could. They demonstrated their agility and perception, as they frolicked around me. Even when caught, they found any crevices of my grasp to escape - in which I would have to start from square one. Finally, I caught this cute and vibrant fellow:

The frog was surprisingly calm around me; I think it was because we formed a bond. It was concluded to be a Squirrel treefrog (Hyla squirella). Because I did not see if it had a vocal sac, I could not confidently identify its sex. I did see many of them on either thick vegetation or sticking onto trees that are close to a body of water. This is because this species of frog reproduce via external fertilization. The female deposits many eggs into shallow waters, and the male would then fertilize the exposed eggs. March is actually the beginning of this species breeding season. Unfortunately, it was not late enough for me to experience their duck-like quack calls. 

From further examining the frog, I would estimate that its body was a little less than an inch. Referencing the picture above, its fully extended legs were almost double its body size. You could also see the genera's extensive webbing and large toepads. Squirrel treefrogs are highly variable in color and spotting/markings. My friend was of the uniformly green variant and featured no markings. As a result, it could be confused with the Green treefrog (Hyla cinerea). The main difference here is that Squirrel treefrogs do not feature a lightly-colored lateral stripe that extends from its lips to its groin.