Need help identifying this frog

[oceanluvr30]

Hi...first time poster and new member. I have a lot of tree frogs in my back yard near the pool every evening and would like to make sure they are not Cuban tree frogs, which in my area are considered invasive...S. Florida. Attached is a photo of one of the critters, can someone help ID this frog..is it a Cuban?

[Julia]

Just out of curiosity what would you do to it if you found out it was a Cuban Tree Frog?

[JimO]

It doesn't look like a cuban to me. Cubans have much larger front toe pads and do not have the striped pattern on the legs. Here's a good site from UF that provides photos and info on all Florida frogs: http://www.wec.ufl.edu/extension/wil...a_gratiosa.php

Based on the pattern and the size, I'd guess a barking treefrog. Although the photos for the barking treefrog on the UF link show brown specimens, they also come in various green patterns.

They're great frogs to have around. I'd love to have some around our house.

Here is a link with photos of green specimens and their sound. If they are barking treefrogs, you should be hearing that sound at night, especially when a thunderstorm is nearby.

YouTube - Barking Treefrogs in our backyard (just our audio)[/URL]

[JimO]

I overlooked one other possibility. It could also be a gray treefrog. It's a bit on the thin side.

Oh, and one way to identify a gray treefrog is that it has yellow flash marks on the back of its thighs. It's hard to tell from the photo.

[oceanluvr30]

Just out of curiosity what would you do to it if you found out it was a Cuban Tree Frog?

Well Julia, that is an interesting question that i hope i do not have to answer. The University of Florida and others list the Cuban as a very destructive invasive species and recommend killing the Cuban Tree frog. I am hoping my photo is of any frog but a Cuban so that i do not have to make that decision.

"

The Cuban Tree Frog, Osteopilus septentrionalus, is an invasive non-native species found in the United States that actively preys on native tree frogs such as the American Green Tree Frog, Squirrel Frog, Gray Tree Frog, Pinewoods Tree Frog, and Barking Tree Frog. It has the potential to decimate whole populations of native frogs, and in some locations has done just that."

Read more at Suite101: Cuban Tree Frogs: Invasive Threat to Native Frogs http://www.suite101.com/content/cuba...#ixzz10kovJOBS

[oceanluvr30]

Found a couple of websites, thanks to this forum which have the call of the Cuban tree frog and unfortunately i think that is the species that has invaded my backyard. However i would really like some solid confirmation as i will then have a very tough decision to make. Do i let nature takes it's course or do i intervene, in hopes of slowing the invasion?

[JimO]

As much as I love frogs, I just can't abide destructive invasives. If they aren't destructive to other species, such as the Brown Anole, my attitude is live and let live. In the case of Cuban Treefrogs and Cane Toads, I side with the native species.

The frog in the photo would be a young Cuban, if that is what it turns out to be, because they get twice that size. Also, you might want to put it in a suitable container for a day or two and see if it calls to confirm (that is if it's a male).

You might have a Cuban infestation, but that particular frog might be something else.

Found a couple of websites, thanks to this forum which have the call of the Cuban tree frog and unfortunately i think that is the species that has invaded my backyard. However i would really like some solid confirmation as i will then have a very tough decision to make. Do i let nature takes it's course or do i intervene, in hopes of slowing the invasion?

[JimO]

I don't mind being wrong, but in this case, I wish I had been right. After searching some more, I found examples of Cubans that look like the one in your photo. Like this one.

[MaraBird]

Cubans do in fact have stripped leg patterns and often come in green...

Here's a video...

Cuban Tree Frog feeding response - YouTube

[ariesheiress]

So what decision did you make?