Hispaniolan yellow tree frog facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hispaniolan yellow tree frog |
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The Hispaniolan yellow tree frog (Osteopilus pulchrilineatus), also called the common treefrog, is a type of frog. It belongs to the Hylidae family. This frog lives only on the island of Hispaniola. You can find it in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
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About the Hispaniolan Yellow Tree Frog
Adult female Hispaniolan yellow tree frogs can grow to about 43 millimeters (about 1.7 inches) long. Males are a bit smaller, reaching about 39 millimeters (about 1.5 inches).
These frogs are easy to spot because they have three lines on their back. These lines can be yellow, tan, green, or brown. Their lower sides are usually yellow. They are active at night when the temperature is between 24 and 27 degrees Celsius (75-81 degrees Fahrenheit). Frogs in the Osteopilus group usually eat many different kinds of food. They often choose prey based on its size.
Where the Hispaniolan Yellow Tree Frog Lives
The Hispaniolan yellow tree frog is one of four frog species found only on Hispaniola. It needs special conditions to survive. Its natural habitats include moist broadleaf forests and riparian forests, which are forests along rivers. It also lives in mangrove forests, grasslands, and marshes.
You can also find these frogs in places changed by humans. This includes rice fields, coffee and cacao farms, and areas with livestock. The Hispaniolan yellow tree frog has at least six different places where it breeds. Many of these are watery areas. These include ponds with plants near open grasslands, small ponds in mountains, and streams in mountain forests. They also use temporary pools in forests, pools in rice fields, and rivers in forested areas. Males often call out in flooded pools after heavy rains. The area where this frog lives is estimated to be between 13,000 and 20,000 square kilometers. They can be found at elevations up to almost 1,700 meters (about 5,577 feet).
Protecting the Hispaniolan Yellow Tree Frog
This frog was once listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. But in April 2012, a new study changed its status to vulnerable. This means it is still at risk. The number of these frogs is going down. They could disappear from some areas in the next ten years.
The frog populations are very spread out and separated. Even though they can live in areas changed by humans, they still need forests and wetlands to survive. This makes them very sensitive to further habitat loss.
Threats to the Frogs
The biggest danger to the Hispaniolan yellow tree frog is losing its habitat. This means their homes are being destroyed or broken into smaller pieces. Both human actions and natural events cause these threats.
Some human activities that harm them include building homes, mining, and cutting down trees for wood or ranching. Invasive species and diseases also threaten them. Losing habitat for farming, especially for sugarcane, is another big problem for these tree frogs. The quality of streams in Hispaniola is also getting worse due to human activities. This harms the frogs that live in or near these streams.
In 2011, experts said that these frog populations needed more help to survive in their natural homes. Specifically, protecting the forests and wetlands where they live is very important. These frogs are not known to be threatened by being caught for trade or kept as pets.
See also
In Spanish: Osteopilus pulchrilineatus para niños
