THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Anura    Hylidae  

Gray Treefrog
Dryophytes versicolor (LeConte, 1825)

Current SSAR Comments:
Booker et al. (2022, Molecular Biology and Evolution 39: msab316) and Booker et al. (2023, Molecular Ecology 32: 4863–4879) provided an updated view of genome duplication and hybridization in this species complex based on genome-wide nDNA data as well as a historical review of the topic.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.23.01.40)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 4.3 MB

Province/State Distribution:
Canada: Manitoba New Brunswick Ontario Quebec Saskatchewan
USA: Arkansas Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin

First instance(s) of published English names:
Common Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor: Storer, D. H. 1839. Reports on the Ichthyology and Herpetology of Massachusetts. Reports on the Fishes, Reptiles and Birds of Massachusetts. Published Agreeably to an Order of the Legislature, by the Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State. Dutton and Wentworth, State Printers, Boston, Massachusetts. pp.); Northern Tree-toad (Hyla versicolor: De Kay, James E. 1842. Zoology of New-York, or, The New-York Fauna: Comprising Detailed Descriptions of All the Animals Hitherto Observed within the State of New-York, with Brief Notices of those Occasionally Found Near its Borders, and Accompanied by Appropriate Illustrations. Volume 1, Part 3 (Reptiles and Amphibians). W. & A. White & J. Visscher, Albany, New York. pp.); North American Tree-frog (Hyla versicolor: Royal College of Surgeons of England. 1859. Descriptive catalogue of the specimens of natural history in spirit contained in the Museum of the Royal college of surgeons of England. Vertebrata: Pisces, Reptilia, Aves, Mammalia. Taylor and Francis, London, England. pp.); Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor: Allen, J. A. 1869. Catalogue of the reptiles and batrachians found in the vicinity of Springfield, Mass., with notices of all the other species known to inhabit the state. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural Hisotry 12(1868-1869):171-204); Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor: Allen, J. A. 1869. Catalogue of the reptiles and batrachians found in the vicinity of Springfield, Mass., with notices of all the other species known to inhabit the state. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural Hisotry 12(1868-1869):171-204); Common Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor: Coues, Elliott and Henry C. Yarrow. 1878. Notes on the natural history of Fort Macon, N. C. and Vicinity (No. 4). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 30():21-28); Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor: Coues, Elliott and Henry C. Yarrow. 1878. Notes on the natural history of Fort Macon, N. C. and Vicinity (No. 4). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 30():21-28); Chameleon Hya (Hyla versicolor: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Common Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor: Davis, N. S., and Frank L. Rice. 1883. List of Batrachia and Reptilia of Illinois. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences 1(3):25–32); Common Tree-toad (Hyla versicolor: Garman, H. 1892. A synopsis of the reptiles and amphibians of Illinois. Illinois Laboratory of Natural History Bulletin 3():215-403); Chameleon Tree-frog (Hyla versicolor: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Common Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Changeable Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Common Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor: Fowler, Henry W. 1907. The amphibians and reptiles of New Jersey. MacCrellish and Quigley, Trenton, N. J.. 29-250pp.); Chamaeleon Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor: Hurter, Julius. 1911. Herpetology of Missouri. Transactions of the Academy of Science St. Louis 20(5):59-274); Common Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor: Brimley, Clement S. 1915. List of reptiles and amphibians of North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 30(4):195-206); Rain Toad (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Stejneger, Leonhard H. and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Stejneger, Leonhard H. and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Strecker, John K., Jr. 1922. An annotated catalogue of the amphibians and reptiles of Bexar County, Texas. Bulletin Scientific Society of San Antonio (4):1-31); Dusky Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor phaeocrypta: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Common Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Northern Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Chameleon Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Chameleon Hyla (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Common Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Changeable Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Tree Toad (Hyla versicolor: Smith, Hobart M. 1934. The Amphibians of Kansas. American Midland Naturalist 15(4):377-527); Bird-voiced Tree Frog (Hyla phaeocrypta: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Common Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor versicolor: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1825 LeConte, John E. Remarks on the American species of the genera Hyla and Rana. Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York 1(2):278-282
1880 Cope, Edward D. On the zoological position of Texas. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (17):151
1923 Viosca, Percy, Jr. Notes on the status of Hyla phaeocrypta Cope. Copeia 1923():96-99
1928 Burt, Charles E. A new amphibian record from Kansas, Hyla phaeocrypta (Cope). Science 67(1747):630-631
1945 Mittleman, M. Budd. An additional note on a supposed specimen of Hyla phaeocrypta. Herpetologica 3():20-21
1945 Mittleman, M. Budd. The status of Hyla phaeocrypta with notes on its variation. Copeia 1945(1):31-37
1947 Smith, Hobart M. and Bryce C. Brown. The Texan subspecies of the treefrog, Hyla versicolor. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 60():47-50
1953 Mittleman, M. Budd and J. C. List. The generic differentiation of the swamp treefrogs. Copeia 1953(2):80-83
1958 Bragg, Arthur N. Taxonomic status of the gray tree frog in Oklahoma. Herpetologica 14(2):79-84
1958 Blair, W. Frank. Mating call in the speciation of anuran amphibians. The American Naturalist 92(862):27-51
1959 Bragg, Arthur N. Voice in Salientia. I. Observations on Hyla versicolor x chrysoscelis intergrades in central Oklahoma with a few data from Arkansas. Wasmann Journal of Biology 17(2):231-243
1960 Pyburn, William F. Hybridization between Hyla versicolor and H. femoralis. Copeia 1960(1):55-56
1961 Johnson, C. F. Cryptic Speciation in the Hyla versicolor Complex. Dissertation. University of Texas, Austin. pp.
1963 Johnson, Clifford R. Additional evidence of sterility between call-types in the Hyla versicolor complex. Copeia 1963(1):139-143
1966 Johnson, C. Species recognition in the Hyla versicolor complex. Texas Journal of Science 18(4):361-364
1968 Ralin, Dennis B. Ecological and reproductive differentiation in cryptic species of the Hyla versicolor complex (Hylidae). Southwestern Naturalist 13(3):283-300
1970 Wasserman, Aaron O. Polyploidy in the common tree toad Hyla versicolor Le Conte. Science (167):385-386
1972 Brown, Lauren E. and Jill R. Brown. Mating calls and distributional records of Treefrogs of the Hyla versicolor complex in Illinois. Journal of Herpetology 6(3-4):233-234
1972 Pierce, Jack R. and Dennis B. Ralin. Vocalizations and behavior of the males of three species in the Hyla versicolor complex. Herpetologica 28(4):329-337
1974 Gerhardt, H. Carl. Mating call differences between eastern and western populations of the treefrog Hyla chrysoscelis. Copeia 1974(2):534-536
1976 Ralin, Dennis B. Comparative hybridization of a diploid-tetraploid cryptic species pair of treefrogs. Copeia 1976(1):191-196
1977 Ralin, Dennis B. Evolutionary aspects of mating call variation in a diploid-tetraploid species complex of treefrogs (Anura). Evolution 31(4):721-736
1978 Maxson, Linda R. Immunological evidence pertaining to relationships between old world Hyla arborea (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae) and North American Hyla. Journal of Herpetology 12(1):98-100
1978 Cash, Marion N. and James P. Bogart. Cytological differentiation of the diploid-tetraploid species pair of North American treefrogs (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae). Journal of Herpetology 12(4):555-558
1979 Ralin, Dennis B. and James S. Rogers. A morphological analysis of a North American diploid-tetraploid complex of treefrogs (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae). Journal of Herpetology 13(3):261-269
1979 Ralin, Dennis B. and Robert K. Selander. Evolutionary genetics of diploid-tetraploid species of treefrogs of the genus Hyla. Evolution 33(2):595-608
1980 Bogart, James P. Evolutionary implications of polyploidy in amphibians and reptiles. Pages 341-378 in Polyploidy Plenum Press, New York. pp.
1980 Green, David M. Size differences in adhesive toe-pad cells of treefrogs of the diploid-polyploid Hyla versicolor complex. Journal of Herpetology 14(1):15-19
1981 Fitzgerald, Kevin T., Hobart M. Smith, and Louis J. Guillette, Jr. Nomenclature of the diploid species of the diploid-tetraploid Hyla versicolor complex. Journal of Herpetology 15(3):356-360
1982 Wiley, John E. Chromosome banding patterns of treefrogs (Hylidae) of the eastern United States. Herpetologica 38(4):507-520
1983 Ralin, Dennis B., Michael A. Romano and C. William Kilpatrick. The tetraploid treefrog Hyla versicolor: Evidence for a single origin from the diploid H.chrysoscelis . Herpetologica 39(3):212-225
1985 Collins, Joseph T. and David M. Hillis. Final report to the Kansas Fish and Game Commission on the Gray Treefrogs of Kansas. Contract #75. ():12
1987 Hillis, David M., Joseph T. Collins, and James P. Bogart. Distribution of diploid and tetraploid species of Gray Tree Frogs (Hyla chrysoscelis and Hyla versicolor) in Kansas American Midland Naturalist 117(1):214-217
1987 Romano, Michael A., Dennis B. Ralin, Sheldon I. Guttman and John H. Skillings. Parallel electromorph variation in the diploid-tetraploid Gray Treefrog complex. The American Naturalist 130(6):864-878
1990 Cline, George R. Evolution in the Gray Treefrog complex: Acoustical, morphological, and genetic variation in midwestern populations. Dissertation. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater. 165pp.
1991 Mable, Barbara and James P. Bogart. Call analysis of triploid hybrids resulting from diploid-tetraploid species of crosses of hylid tree frogs. Bioacoustics 3():111-119
1991 Highton, Richard H. Molecular phylogeny of Plethodonine salamanders and Hylid frogs: Statistical analysis of protein comparisons. Molecular Biology and Evolution 8(6):796-818
1992 Smith, Hobart M., Kevin T. Fitzgerald, and Louis J. Guillette, Jr. Note on the proposed designation of a neotype for Hyla chrysoscelis Cope, 1880, and the designation of a neotype for H. versicolor le Conte, 1825 (Amphibia, Anura). Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 49():151–152
1994 Ptacek, Margaret B., H. Carl Gerhardt and Richard D. Sage. Speciation by polyploidy in treefrogs: Multiple origins of the tetraploid, Hyla versicolor. Evolution 48(3):898-908
1994 Gerhardt, H. Carl, Margaret B. Ptacek, Louise Barnett, and Kenneth G. Torke. Hybridization in the diploid-tetraploid treefrogs Hyla chrysoscelis and Hyla versicolor. Copeia 1994(1):51-59
2000 Keller, Michael J. Validity of nucleolar number for identification of the diploid-tetraploid gray treefrogs, Hyla chrysoscelis and Hyla versicolor. Copeia 2000(3):860-862
2001 Keller, Michael J. and H. Carl Gerhardt. Polyploidy alters advertisement call structure in gray tree frogs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 268():341–345
2002 Espinoza, N. R. and M. A. F. Noor. Population genetics of a polyploid: Is there hybridization between lineages of Hyla versicolor? The Journal of Heredity 93(2):81-85
2004 Holloway, Alisha K. Polyploid origins, experimental evolution of gene duplicates, and duplication and divergence of reproductive genes. Dissertation. University of Texas, Austin. 78pp.
2005 Lannoo, Michael (Editor) Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University fo California Press, Berkeley. 1115pp.
2005 Faivovich, J., C. F. B. Haddad, P. C. de A. Garcia, D. R. Frost, J. A. Campbell, and W. C. Wheeler. Systematic review of the frog family Hylidae, with special reference to Hylinae: A phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (294):1–240
2006 Wrijenhoek, Robert C. Polyploid hybrids: Multiple origins of a treefrog species. Current Biology 16(7):R245-R247
2006 Holloway, Alisha K., David C. Cannatella, H. Carl Gerhardt, and David M. Hillis. Polyploids with different origins and ancestors form a single sexual polyploid species. The American Naturalist 167(4):E88-E101
2009 Hua, Xia, Cuizhang Fu, Jiatang Li, Adrian Nieta Montes de Oca and John J. Wiens. A revised phylogeny of holarctic treefrogs (Genus Hyla) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Herpetologica 65(3):246-259
2010 Wiens, John J., Caitlin A. Kuczynski, Xia Hua, and Daniel S. Moen. An expanded phylogeny of treefrogs (Hylidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 55():871-882
2011 Tucker, Mitch A. and H. C. Gerhardt. Parallel changes in mate-attracting calls and female preferences in autotriploid tree frogs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 279():1583–1587
2013 Dodd, C. Kenneth. Frogs of the United States and Canada. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 982pp.
2013 Bogart, James P. and K. Bi. Genetic and genomic interactions of animals with different ploidy levels. Cytogenetic and Genome Research 140(2-4):117–136
2014 Bryson, Robert W., Brian Tilston Smith, Adrian Nieto-Montes de Oca, Uri Omar Garcia-Vazquez, and Brett R. Riddle. The role of mitochondrial introgression in illuminating the evolutionary history of Nearctic treefrogs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 172(1):103-116
2016 Duellman, William E., Angela B. Marion, and S. Blair Hedges. Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the treefrogs (Amphibia: Anura: Arboranae). Zootaxa 4101(1):109
2019 Zhang, Jia-Yong, Bryan E. Luu, Dan-Na Yua, Le-Ping Zhang, Rasha Al-attar, and Kenneth B. Storey. The complete mitochondrial genome of Dryophytes versicolor: Phylogenetic relationship among Hylidae and mitochondrial protein-coding gene expression in response to freezing and anoxia. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 132():461-469
2020 Bogart, James P., Patrick Burgess, and Jinzhong Fu. Revisiting the evolution of the North American tetraploid treefrog (Hyla versicolor) Genome ():
2020 Booker, William W. The evolutionary history and quaternary origins of the polyploid Gray Treefrog complex (Hylidae: Hyla versicolor sensu lato). Dissertation. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. 152pp.
2022 Lazerus, Nora K. Efficacy of Non-Lethal Molecular Methods in Elucidating Distribution of Gray Treefrog Complex (Hyla chrysoscelis/versicolor) in Kansas. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 25pp.
2022 Booker, William W., H. Carl Gerhardt, Alan R. Lemmon, Margaret B. Ptacek, Alyssa T.B. Hassinger, Johannes Schul, and Emily Moriarty Lemmon. The complex history of genome duplication and hybridization in North American Gray Treefrogs. Molecular Biology and Evolution 39(2):19
2023 Dodd, C. Kenneth. Frogs of the United States and Canada. Second Edition. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 1032pp.
2023 Booker, William W., Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Alan R. Lemmon, Margaret B. Ptacek, Alyssa T. B. Hassinger, Johannes Schul, and H. Carl Gerhardt. Biogeography and the evolution of acoustic communication in the polyploid North American grey treefrog complex. Molecular Ecology 32(17):4863-4879

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 24 March 2025 20:42 CT