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Home/Species/ Cuban Treefrog

Osteopilus septentrionalis

(Duméril and Bibron, 1841)

Cuban Treefrog

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100086
Element CodeAAABC04010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderAnura
FamilyHylidae
GenusOsteopilus
Concept Reference
Frost, D. R. 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. v + 732 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Formerly included in genus Hyla.
Conservation Status
Review Date2005-06-21
Change Date1996-10-18
Edition Date2005-06-21
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
West Indies: Cuba, Isla de Pinos (now Isla de Juventud), Cayman Is., Bahama Is.; introduced on northwestern Puerto Rico, Curacao, St. Maarten and Saba (Netherlands Antilles), North Caicos (Turks and Caicos Islands), Nevis, Antigua, Oahu (Hawaii), U.S. Virgin Is., British Virgin Is. (St. Martin and Tortola), Anguilla, southeastern Louisiana, much of Florida and adjacent coastal Georgia and Mississippi (USA), and Puerto Limón, Costa Rica.
Occurrences Comments
Represented by many and/or large occurrences throughout most of the range.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Primarily in mesic situations; in the Bahamas, often in more xeric areas (pine forest); in banana plantings (Schwartz and Henderson 1991). Daytime retreats include surface objects, hollow logs, burrows of PELTAPHRYNE, high corners or beams of rooms of abandoned houses, nests of birds (grassquit, bananaquit); very occasionally females may be found in sun on tree trunks in wooded areas (Schwartz and Henderson 1991). Florida: suburbs as well as rural areas, including pinelands and mesic-tropical hammocks (Ashton and Ashton 1988). May congregate in swimming pools or cisterns (Philibosian and Yntema 1978). Eggs are laid in rain pools, temporary ponds, TYPHA marshes, flooded pastures, ditches with black mangrove, flooded areas in TERMINALIA stands, standing water in pinewoods and mixed pine-hardwoods; sometimes in brackish water (Ashton and Ashton 1988). Larvae aquatic. Males call from leaves, branches, limbs, and stems of saplings, and from vertical walls adjacent to pools (often small) of rain water (Schwartz and Henderson 1991).

Ecology

In the Virgin Islands, apparently dispersed via cars and trucks (Philibosian and Yntema 1978).

Reproduction

Calls throughout the year, but choruses most frequent March-September (Schwartz and Henderson 1991). Eggs hatch within 2 days (Ashton and Ashton 1988).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodForest - MixedWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedSuburban/orchard
Palustrine Habitats
TEMPORARY POOLHERBACEOUS WETLANDSCRUB-SHRUB WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesNNA
ProvinceRankNative
FloridaSNANo
HawaiiSNANo
Roadless Areas (1)
Puerto Rico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Mameyes AreaCaribbean National Forest11,150
References (33)
  1. Ashton, R. E., Jr., and P. S. Ashton. 1988. Handbook of reptiles and amphibians of Florida. Part Three. The amphibians. Windward Publ. Co., Miami.
  2. Breuil, M. 2002. Histoire naturelle des amphibiens et reptiles terrestres de l'archipel Guadeloupeen. Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthelemy. Patrimoines Naturels. 54:1-339.
  3. Breuil, M. 2004. Amphibiens et Reptiles des Antilles. PLB Editions. Guadeloupe.
  4. Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1998. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 616 pp.
  5. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  6. Duellman, W. E., and R. I. Crombie. 1970. <i>Hyla septentrionalis</i>. Cat. Am. Amph. Rep. 92.1-92.4.
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  8. Frost, D.R. 2020. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Online: http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html
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  10. Hedges, S.B. 1999. Distribution of amphibians in the West Indies. Patterns of Distribution of Amphibians. A Global Perspective. Duellman, W.E.,editor. The Johns Hopkins Press. Baltimore, Maryland.
  11. Hedges, S.B. 2001. Caribherp: database of West Indian amphibians and reptiles (http://www.caribherp.net). Pennsylvania State University. University Park, PA.
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  18. Kaiser, H. and Henderson, R.W. 1994. The conservation status of Lesser Antillean frogs. Herpetological Natural History. 2(2):41-56.
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  33. Wilson, L. D., and L. Porras. 1983. The ecological impact of man on the South Florida herpetofauna. Univ. Kansas Mus.Nat. Hist. Spec. Publ. 9:1-89.