Japanese tree frog
The Japanese tree frog (Hyla japonica) is a small amphibian native to Japan, categorized as an Old World tree frog. Typically growing between one and 2.5 inches (three to six centimeters) in length, they have distinctive green skin, cream-colored bellies, and large black eyes. Their long, slender limbs are partially webbed, featuring round discs on each toe that aid in climbing through trees, which is characteristic of their arboreal lifestyle. As carnivores, these frogs primarily feed on insects such as ants, beetles, and caterpillars, but they face predation from snakes and birds.
Reproduction among Japanese tree frogs involves courtship rituals performed in social areas known as leks, where females may lay between 450 to 1,500 eggs in foam nests that float on water. Alternatively, some may lay eggs in moist soil, allowing for quicker development from eggs to young frogs. Japanese tree frogs can live up to 16 years and are currently not considered a threatened species. This amphibian plays a significant role in its ecosystem, contributing to the balance between insect populations.
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Japanese tree frog
Japanese tree frogs are classified as Old World tree frogs because they live in Japan, a country considered to be part of the Old World. The United States, Canada, Mexico, and all of the countries of Central and South America are all New World countries, because they are younger than the Old World countries.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hylidae
Genus: Hyla
Species: Japonica
Japanese tree frogs grow to be between one and 2 1/2 inches (three and six centimeters) long. They have green skin covering their short, stout bodies. Their partially-webbed limbs are long and slender with round discs on each toe to help them grip smooth surfaces. Japanese tree frogs have cream colored bellies, and big, bulging, black eyes.
Like other Old World tree frogs, Japanese tree frogs are arboreal, or tree-dwelling, as their name suggests. They are found climbing through the trees of Japan.
Japanese tree frogs are carnivorous, or meat-eating, animals. They survive on a diet of tree insects and other small invertebrates, or spineless creatures. Ants, beetles, and caterpillars are favorite foods of Japanese tree frogs. Like all other frogs and toads Japanese tree frogs are preyed upon by snakes and birds.
It is not known exactly when or how Japanese tree frogs mate. They meet in social areas called leks and perform courtship rituals. Japanese tree frogs may reproduce by laying their 450 to 1,500 fertilized eggs in foam nests, like many other Old World tree frogs. If so, after mating, all of the females gather together on a branch which hangs over water. Here, they deposit their eggs along with another substance which they beat with their legs to create a thick foam which holds their eggs. When the young hatch from their eggs, they slide through the foam, and drop into the water. Once in the water, the tadpoles grow and change, or metamorphose, into their adult forms. Their tails, which help them swim, shrink back into their bodies and are replaced by legs. Those Japanese tree frogs who do not reproduce using a foam nest, lay their eggs in moist soil and the young experience direct development from eggs to tadpoles to young frogs, much quicker.
Japanese tree frogs have a life span of up to 16 years. They are not a threatened species.
Bibliography
“Japanese Tree Frog - Facts, Diet, Habitat, & Pictures on Animalia.bio.” Animalia, 2024, animalia.bio/japanese-tree-frog. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.
“Japanese Tree Frog (Hyla Japonica).” Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, 2024, wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/invasive/hyla-japonica. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.