# Ohio Frog, what is it?



## kyle1745

Found a pair of these on my house today when I got home any ideas?




























I think it might be this:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/Resources/amphibians/copegray.htm


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## dmatychuk

I have somthing very simular in our area. Do you think if we catch a bunch of them and send them to Peru we can do some kind of a frog swap Really, a "Frog Swap" has anyone tried this. :wink: :lol:


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## Catfur

My guess would be Cope's or Grey treefrog.


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## Scott

Look for yellow flash marks on the hind legs.

That would make them Grey tree frogs (never seen them that green as adults though!).

I am unsure of what a Copes frog looks like - but what you've got there appears to be a Grey Tree frog to me. Or is Copes the common name for Grey Tree frog?

(Cool looking frogs)

s


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## kyle1745

The first pic is one of them which was more green, and the other 2 pics are of the other one.

They were neat looking and for as close to the city as I am a neat thing to find. I let them be and they were gone this morning.


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## *GREASER*

The Copes gray treefrog hyla chrysoscelis and the Gray treefrog Hyla versicolor are very similar and can really only be told apart by there calls. And even then it isnt easy. The two populations are generally non overlaping so if you could look up the distribution of the two you may be able of figure out wich one you have.


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## KeroKero

One of the species is actually a genetic tetraploid of the other, phenotypically they are identical. They have basically the same call, with the main different being call speed (one sounds like original species, but twice as fast). I have a friend working on a genetic test kit that can be used in the field to differentiate the frogs, especially useful in areas where the over lap and you want to know the species of a female or juvenile. 

The yellow "flash marks" on the legs are an identifier, as well as the line going from the eye to the top of the jaw, usually white, in in your last two pics a bit greenish. Adults can be anywhere from mostly grey/brown, to almost black/brown, to the bright green seen, depending on the situation. Usually they are trying to look like bark tho, thus why most adults are found brownish.

You can see the white mark below the eye in this adult female:









And here are the "flash" marks on an adult male (these are not present on froglets up to 2 months old, I'm not sure when it appears):


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## *GREASER*

Here are some pics of one of the little guys I morphed last summer.


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## kyle1745

Are you keeping them? I rather them do well outside than keep them, but would be cool to raise a bunch and let them go.


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## KeroKero

I raised a whole bunch up over the summer, it was great. These guys come out of the water REALLY FAST when they pop front legs (when they have prominant elbows, move them to a morphing container otherwise they might drown if they can't climb out of the water!). They do really well on FFs fed a couple times a day. Grow like weeds. A couple weeks on FFs they move off hydei and are ready to do a number on your garden bugs. I've only had a couple adult females, they are real sweet and will even eat out of your hand. Males will too, but they have LOUD calls, not something you might want to have in your house at night, tho they call during the day too (as well as active during the day). Not sure what period during the day they are suppose to be up lol, I've heard them calling pretty much around the clock!


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## kyle1745

Very interesting... Ill let them be, but they were neat to see. The smaller of the 2 was back last night so I guess the other was close by.


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## andersonii85

Nice Gray Tree frog photos there Kyle! In Ohio you have both species of Gray Tree Frog. I have completed a few research projects with both species and can say that they are by far my favorite tree frogs. The tetraploid is the Northern Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor) and the diploid by default is the Southern or Cope's Gray Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis). Here are some photos from my latest project that was completed last summer. I was trying to figure out just how far Southern Gray Tree Frogs go from breeding sites after the season is over. Enjoy!


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## Lukeomelas

andersonii85,

Those frogs look hilarious! Could you give us a little more information about this experiment. I'd love to hear what you found out too.

Thanks,

Luke


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## andersonii85

Lukeomelas said:


> andersonii85,
> 
> Those frogs look hilarious! Could you give us a little more information about this experiment. I'd love to hear what you found out too.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Luke


Luke,

Glad you like them! Basically, I had two survey sights that were known to have SGTF's. I tied "refugia" to trees to elicit frogs for my radio telemetry study. The refugia consisted of pvc pipes cut to a certain length and caps were placed on the bottom. Holes were drilled about 4cm up from the bottom- this way they hold water, but not too much. These were placed about chest high on randomly selected trees that were around a vernal pool. I used black and white pvc to see if there were any preferences. I used a flashlight to check them everyday. I took photos of every frog to be used for an indiviual identification system. Unfortunately, I never obtained the program to use with the photos. 

I bought the smallest transmitters possible and siliconed small tubes on the back of them. I used a bracelet kit I got from my little sister. This kit included some stretchy nylon string and beads. Basically I threaded the transmitter through via the tube and added beads to make a tiny frog belt. I tied the belt around the SGTF's waist. The transmitters battery lasts about 30 days and the belts lasted about 20-25, so that worked out well. Basically, I just tracked them at day and night to see their movements during the breeding season and continued my study until October. I tried to use the same frogs and went through the process of tying those belts over and over (ugh!). Some of the largest moves were 221 meters and 301 meters, which was awesome to see. I even got to see their estivation spots and how high they actually go in trees. I have so many more questions now. Maybe I can get a grant this summer... we'll see. Any more questions don't hesitate to pm me.

-Justin


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## Lukeomelas

Justin,

Thanks for the info. That sounds like a lot of fun, but I'm sure it also brought up a lot more questions. Good luck with the grant, I hope you'll be able to get back out there and tie on a few more froggie belts.


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## Frognut

How fun! Ive had one of these frogs as a pet when I was about 12. They are very personable, not shy at all. I have a group of them that hang around my porch in the summer. They like it when I leave the light on and atract bugs. This brings to mind. One time a friend of mine built a pond in his yard. He lived in the city and needed some wildlife. So one spring night we went out and collected about 30 of the little guys, that was a blast. the next night we set them free in his yard. they must have been very happy because they all started to sing. I think people came to see what was up from 3 blocks away, Not kidding here! They sound like a phone ringing in the trees. 

Justin: Keep us posted, I PMd you


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