Common name: Pacific Treefrog
Scientific name: (Hyla regilla)
Classification name: Treefrog
Description: The Pacific Treefrog has rough skin of various colours and patterns. It is distinguished from other treefrogs by a dark brown or black line across the face that runs horizontally through each eye. It has large toe pads which help it climb and often has a dark triangle between the eyes. Adults may reach 5 cm.
Call: The call is a repeated series of two short high pitched notes. The first note is shorter, higher and raspier than the second so that the call sounds syncopated.
Confusing Species: Although the Boreal Chorus Frog is found in northeastern British Columbia, the Pacific Treefrog is the only treefrog found in the southern part of the province. The Boreal Chorus Frog differs in having three dark stripes down its back. The Wood Frog also has a dark line through the eye, however it also has prominent dorsolateral ridges down the back and does not have enlarged toe pads.
Distributions: In Canada, the Pacific Treefrog is found only in British Columbia. It is found on the southern mainland and throughout Vancouver Island. It has been transplanted to Graham Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Southward it is found through the western United States and into Mexico.
Habitat: The Pacific Treefrog lives on the ground among vines, shrubs and grasses, near water.
Reproduction: Clusters of 20-50 eggs are laid in the late winter and early spring and metamorphosis is complete within a couple months.
Natural History: Pacific Treefrogs can change colour rapidly to more closely match their background. A green treefrog will stay green but change from an almost blackish green against a dark background to the most pale of greens against a bright background.
Conservation Concerns: There is no evidence of decline in this species.