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Canyon treefrog

Hyla arenicolor · Frogs and toads · Amphibians

Canyon treefrog (Hyla arenicolor): Head and body up to about 57 mm (2.2 in) (CPW). Light brown or gray, often matching the rock, turning chalky in full midday sun (CPW). This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Canyon treefrog — verified North Ground species photograph
North Ground · All rights reserved
Scientific name
Hyla arenicolor
Family
Hylidae
In North America
Native
Range
Western and southeastern Colorado and southern Utah south through Arizona and western New Mexico into Mexico, with isolated populations in northeastern New Mexico and the Big Bend area of Texas (NatureServe).
Biology

How to identify it

Head and body up to about 57 mm (2.2 in) (CPW). [1][2]

Light brown or gray, often matching the rock, turning chalky in full midday sun (CPW). [1][2]

Paddle-shaped toe tips, extensive webbing on the hind toes, and orange-yellow rear thighs and groin (CPW). [1][2]

Call is a loud, nasal, rapid stuttering 'ah-ah-ah-ah-ah' lasting 0.75-2 seconds; breeding males have loose dusky throat skin and a two-lobed vocal sac (CPW). [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Only along rocky stream courses in canyons, in pools of temporary or permanent streams; also arroyos in semiarid grassland and streams in pinyon-juniper and pine-oak woodland, about 300-3,000 m (NatureServe; CPW). [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Basks on rocks and hides in rock crevices; most active at night but can be seen on rocks along streams by day (CPW; NatureServe). [1][2]

Inactive in cold temperatures and hot dry weather, when it retreats to crevices (NatureServe). [1][2]

Breeds mainly April-July in pools along intermittent streams; adults eat ants, beetles, centipedes and spiders (NatureServe; CPW). [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

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

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.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Western and southeastern Colorado and southern Utah south through Arizona and western New Mexico into Mexico, with isolated populations in northeastern New Mexico and the Big Bend area of Texas (NatureServe).

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. BIOLOGICALCanyon Treefrog

    Colorado Parks and Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Colorado Parks and Wildlife