The fingers are about one-third webbed, and the toes nearly three-quarters webbed. The limbs are short and robust, and large adhesive discs are at the end of the digits which provide grip while climbing.

The iris is golden and has a horizontally slit pupil, and the tympanum (a skin membrane similar to an eardrum) is visible just behind the eye. A distinctive fatty ridge is seen over the eye, and the parotoid gland is moderately large. The green tree frog is a plump, rather large tree frog, and can grow up to 11.5 cm (4.5 in) in length, with fully grown females being slightly larger than males. In Australia, the frog is also known more simply as the 'green tree frog', but that name is often given to the most common green arboreal species in a region, such as the American green tree frog ( Hyla cinerea).Ī 2020 study showed that Litoria caerulea is actually a species complex that includes recently identified species such as Litoria mira, which is endemic to New Guinea. This frog is sometimes referred to as Pelodryas caerulea in the scientific literature. The specific epithet, caerulea, which is Latin for blue, has remained.

The colour of the frog is caused by blue and green pigments covered in a yellow layer the preservative destroyed the yellow layer and left the frog with a blue appearance. The specimens White sent to England were damaged by the preservative and appeared blue. The species was originally called the 'blue frog' ( Rana caerulea) despite its green colour. The green tree frog was the first Australian frog to be scientifically described the original specimen found its way into the collection of Sir Joseph Banks, but was destroyed when the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in London was bombed in World War II. The common name of the species, 'White's tree frog', is in honour of John White's first description in 1790. The Australian green tree frog is a member of the family Hylidae and is placed in the subfamily Pelodryadinae, which is endemic to Australia and New Guinea and includes over 100 species in the genera Ranoidea and Nyctimystes. Taxonomy Original print of the Australian green tree frog, published in John White's Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales. It is a common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being ' least concern'. The skin secretions of the frog have antibacterial and antiviral properties that may prove useful in pharmaceutical preparations and which have rendered it relatively immune to the population declines being experienced by many species of amphibian.

The green tree frog screams when it is in danger to scare off its foe, and squeaks when it is touched.ĭue to its appearance and behavioural traits, the green tree frog is a popular exotic pet throughout the world. Docile and well suited to living near human dwellings, Australian green tree frogs are often found on window sills or inside houses, eating insects drawn by the light.

Its average lifespan in captivity, about 16 years, is long compared with most frogs. Larger than most Australian frogs, the Australian green tree frog reaches 10 cm (4 in) or more in length. It is morphologically similar to some other members of its genus, particularly the magnificent tree frog ( R. splendida) and the white-lipped tree frog ( R. infrafrenata). The Australian green tree frog ( Ranoidea caerulea/ Litoria caerulea), also known as simply green tree frog in Australia, White's tree frog, or dumpy tree frog, is a species of tree frog native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in the United States and New Zealand, though the latter is believed to have died out. Pelodryas caerulea Peters and Doria, 1878.

Peculiar traits of purple tree frog