Hyla cinerea 249 



GENERAL APPEARANCE 



DeKay (1842 Part III p. 72) held this extra Hmital frog to be "Bright 

 green, with a yellow line on each side from the snout to the posterior extrem- 

 ities. Length if inches. From Lat. 30° N. to Mississippi." 



In 1906 Dickerson (p. 127) wrote "The Green Tree Frog is perhaps the 

 most beautiful tree frog of North America. Its slender form and smooth fine 

 coat of green and gold certainly give it an air of distinction. It is more slender 

 than any other North American tree frog. The slenderness is accentuated 

 also by the lengthwise stripes of metallic white or yellow." 



In 191 5 Deckert (p. 3) described it as "an aristocratic looking tree toad, 

 with its long, slender figure of the brightest green, edged on each side with a 

 band of pale gold or silvery white. Its size is larger than any of the preceding 

 species (//. pickenngii, H. squirella and H. femoralis) often reaching 2^ 

 inches from snout to vent." 



It is a very slim, smooth, green frog. It may have side stripe, pointed head 

 and shallow face ( H. cinerea) or have no stripe, broader head and deeper face 

 (H. c. evittata). It is relatively the longest legged Hyla of the swamp. Speci- 

 mens of Hyla versicolor, Hyla gratiosa and Hyla cinerea at 56 mm. have 

 hindlimbs respectively 70 mm., 73 mm., and 89 mm. in length. 



COLORATION OF SPIRIT SPECIMENS (1912) 



Color in spirits olive brown, olive green, brownish; in life all of the speci- 

 mens were grass green or yellowish green. The same color occurs on the dorsal 

 surfaces of the fore- and hindlimbs and forward from the arm on to either 

 side of the throat. Sometimes this narrow area of green is absent but usually 

 it reaches along either ramus as a narrow band seldom reaching the symphysis 

 of the lower jaw. In three examples (Nos. 6524, 6535, 6532), the green 

 extends across the throat while in the others the throat is clear. The char- 

 acteristic straw or yellowish band on the sides of the body is more or less 

 variable. In most it starts on the snout but few have it beginning beneath 

 the eye as Holbrook records. Usually where the tympanic fold crosses it the 

 band may be narrower, broken or missing for a short distance. In the ma- 

 jority the band reaches to the groin although several have it ending midway 

 between the fore- and hind-limbs. The band usually reaches its greatest 

 width on the side of the body. Often it is a narrow line on the sides, in one 

 (No. 651 1) it is almost absent and very thin being only .5 mm. long beneath 

 the tympanum and .5 mm. long back of the tympanic fold. This is a very 

 close approach to the condition of Hyla evittata. 



A similarly covered line occurs along the posterior edge of the forearm 

 and carpus, along the posterior margin of the tibia, and tarsus and anterior 

 margin of the tibia ; rarely one or all of these bands may give way to green body 

 colors, the anterior tibial band being most frequently lost and the tarsal 

 carpal and forearm bands are seldom lost. 



Most of the 23 adults have few to 25 small irregularly arranged cream or 

 orange yellow spots on the green back. In a few they become quite con- 



