The hylidae family.

Part one the European tree frog.

The tree frog is very small compared to the common frog, with the males being up to one and a half inches and the females may be up to two inches in size. The tree frogs are slender with long legs. They are found over most of main land Europe, but were introduced to Britain from Europe at the start of the last century. Their are colonies in the new forest and south east London.  Their dorsal (back) skin is smooth whereas their ventral (abdomen) skin is granular. Their skin colour can range from a light green to grey depending on their temperature, climate or even their mood. Their ventral skin colour is normally white. The tree frog has dark brown lateral stripe on their back that runs from their eyes to their groin. Females have a white throat and males have a golden brown throat with a large folded vocal sacs. They have a rounded face with a very recognisable ear drum, the tree frogs pupils are a shape of a horizontal ellipse. Like most frogs the hind legs are stronger and more powerful the their fore legs, enabling them to jump rapidly. The tree fogs also has suction pads on its toes enabling them to climb among trees and shrubs, it does this normally at night where it will catch insects. Marshland,reed beds, meadows, gardens and parks are their favoured habitats. If the weather is about to change and start to rain tree frogs will start to croak as the pressure changes( they are like barometers). They main food source is beetles,spiders,flies and small caterpillars. They hibernate from late October until March and will use a hiberaculum which will be under walls,rocks or even in cellars. Tree frogs re-produce in stagnant bodies of water, such as lakes,ponds or swamps. They will gather at these place after they come out of hibernation in March right up to June. The males will croak during the breeding season, they will normally start as they are approaching their pools. Unlike other frogs the tree frog may change his breeding ponds, sometimes they will have two breeding areas during the same breeding season. After a spring rainfall the males will call the females away from the vegetation they were in to the pond where the males are. After spawning the females will lay up to a thousand eggs in walnut sized clump. The tadpoles hatch after about ten to fourteen days. After about three months, the tadpoles will metamorphosise into frogs, this occurs between July and August. The tree frog may live up to fifteen years in the wild.