Smilisca baudinii
Encyclopedia
Smilisca baudinii is a nocturnal
species
of tree frog whose native range extends from the Sonoran Desert
and the Lower Rio Grande Valley
of Texas
south to Costa Rica
. Common names include Mexican Tree Frog, Baudin's Tree Frog and Van Vliet’s Frog. They are usually found within lightly forest
ed areas near permanent sources of water.
-grey
in color, with darker brown irregular blotching. Their underside is typically a lighter grey or white
. Their legs have distinctive dark banding.
, and was mistakenly redescribed on several different occasions by different field researchers.
in the US
state of Texas
. It has only been reported in a few counties, and no estimates of its actual population count have been made.
Nocturnal animal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by activity during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal"....
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of tree frog whose native range extends from the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
and the Lower Rio Grande Valley
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
south to Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. Common names include Mexican Tree Frog, Baudin's Tree Frog and Van Vliet’s Frog. They are usually found within lightly forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
ed areas near permanent sources of water.
Description
The Mexican Tree Frog is generally a brownBrown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
-grey
Grey
Grey or gray is an achromatic or neutral color.Complementary colors are defined to mix to grey, either additively or subtractively, and many color models place complements opposite each other in a color wheel. To produce grey in RGB displays, the R, G, and B primary light sources are combined in...
in color, with darker brown irregular blotching. Their underside is typically a lighter grey or white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
. Their legs have distinctive dark banding.
Taxonomy
The species has numerous synonymous classifications due to disjunct populationsDisjunct distribution
In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically...
, and was mistakenly redescribed on several different occasions by different field researchers.
Conservation
The Mexican Tree Frog is considered to be a threatened speciesThreatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It has only been reported in a few counties, and no estimates of its actual population count have been made.