How to identify it
Gray or light brown with small dark brown spots; rough skin; white belly with yellowish limbs and groin. [1][2][3]
Adults 2.5-5.1 cm snout-vent length; toe pads are large and wide, with webbing. [1][2][3]
Baja California treefrog more often has a dark eye stripe, is more often green and has smaller toe pads; males of this species have a dusky yellow throat. [1][2][3]
Call is a repeated pattern of fast, loud, low-pitched quacks; tadpoles have eyes inside the outline of the head. [1][2][3]
Compared with the baja california treefrog: Usually has a dark eye stripe, more often green, smaller toe pads; tadpoles have eyes at the margin of the head. [1][2][3]
Species it is confused with
Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.
- Baja California treefrog · Pseudacris hypochondriaca
Where it lives
Rocky canyons near streams and washes with permanent pools, from desert and coastal stream courses to mountain pine belt. [1][2][3]
How it behaves
Mostly nocturnal except in the breeding season, when it may call day and night; breeds about February-early October. [1][2][3]
By day retreats to shaded rock crevices near the waterline; most movements are under 25 m. [1][2][3]
Eats insects, spiders and centipedes as adults; lays eggs singly, attached to twigs or loose on the bottom. [1][2][3]
Aestivates in extreme heat or cold; inactive in cold or hot, dry weather. [1][2][3]
Limited legal take
Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.
Where legal take is listed
- California — amphibian take · 2026 California Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations (updated July 10, 2026), 14 CCR 5.05/5.60
Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.
Where it is found
Southwestern California south into northern Baja California, Mexico, from near sea level to about 2,290 m. Not found in Canada.
Sources
Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.
NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30
NatureServe
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database · reviewed 2026-09-30
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database