Anderson's Hyla

Hyla andersonii Baird

Colour.—Unspotted pea-green over all upper parts, except hands and feet. The green is edged with white everywhere, except on the posterior and anterior borders of the femur and on the anterior margin of the tibia. The edge of white is everywhere set off by a line of black below it. A purplish brown band extends from the nostril, through the eye, to the shoulder, including the ear. Iris dark or bright bronze. The lower sides are violet-grey, spotted posteriorly with yellow or orange. The exposed surfaces (when the frog is in sitting position) of hands and feet are purplish grey; the concealed parts of these and of the legs are yellow spotted with orange; i.e. the yellow is found on the first finger and along the inner side of the arm, under the arm at its attachment, on the inner two toes and the inner half of the tarsus, and on parts of the body, femur, and tibia, where they touch one another when the leg is folded. The green of the upper arm extends in a scallop on the breast. The green of the face extends across the jaw to form a broad scallop on the side of the throat.

Measurements.—Size small, i.e. 1 3/4 inches or under. Head broad, obtuse in front. Length of head enters total length three and a quarter times. Femur and tibia equal in length, and together slightly shorter than length of head and body.

Structure.—Skin smooth. A fold across breast. Eye large. Ear about one-third size of eye. Inner sole tubercle distinct; outer tubercle not present. The disks on fingers and toes are medium in size. The webs of the toes are short.

Range.—As far as discovered, only from Lakehurst, New Jersey, south to Anderson, South Carolina.

Only six times has this very distinctive Hyla come under observation. The first specimen is the type specimen found at Anderson, South Carolina, by Baird in 1854, and named and described by him. The second specimen was found in 1863 by Dr. Leidy at Jackson, New Jersey. The third was found hy Dr. J. A. Peters at May's Landing, New Jersey, in 1888. In 1889, Dr. J. Percy Moore captured two specimens, both males, at Pleasant Mills, New Jersey. In 1901 a specimen was found at Clementon, New Jersey, and was presented to the Philadelphia Academy of Science by Witmer Stone. Finally, in September, 1904, for the sixth time, Hyla andersonii came to light. It was found by Mr. William T. Davis at Lakehurst, New Jersey. It was shaken from a low oak tree during a hunt for insects.

The photographs of the colour plate are from the last-named specimen, which was kindly loaned for the purpose by Mr. Davis.

In appearance this tree frog is one of the most interesting representatives of its kind. It is nearly as large as the common tree frog, Hyla versicolor, and has a most unusual pattern of dress. The vivid green, with its bounding lines of white and black, gives the appearance of a tailor-made coat from which hands and feet protrude. A somewhat harlequin effect is produced by the lengthwise colour division of the hand and foot. This tree frog looks rather bizarre in side view because of the prominent scallops of colour extending to the throat and breast. Although in its green and white lines it bears a superficial resemblance to Hyla cinerea (see Figs. 154 to 160), on close inspection there is no possibility of confusing it with any other North American tree frog. It resembles somewhat the common tree frog of Europe. (Hyla arborea.)

The creature has a very gentle and alert expression. It is, in fact, one of the most alert and timid of our tree frogs. In captivity it is seldom content until it finds some moist hiding-place in moss and ferns or under wet decaying pieces of wood. When such a place is found, the Hyla backs into it with the burrowing movements common among the Salientia. Here, with flattened body and closed eyes, it remains sleeping away the days and nights. The sleeping position is interesting, in that the long delicately-coloured toes are lifted to the green of the sides, and rest pressed close to the body, just above the shoulder.

This Hyla is relatively hardy. The tree frog found June 1, 1888, was still alive and well in January, 1889. How much longer it lived is not recorded. The specimen caught in September, 1904, is in plump condition now in June, 1905.

THE TREE FROG OF THE WESTERN COAST REGION [Hyla regilla Bd. and Gird. Males with the exception of the two in the centre]. Chosen from five dozen collected at Seattle, Wash., and photographed to show variation in color and color pattern.