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Species authority page

Squirrel treefrog

Hyla squirella · Frogs and toads · Amphibians

Squirrel treefrog (Hyla squirella): Small: average about 30 mm snout-vent. Solid green to brown, sometimes with darker splotches; can change colour with temperature and time of day. 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.

Scientific name
Hyla squirella
Family
Hylidae
In North America
Native
Range
Coastal Plain and Mississippi Valley from southern Texas and southern Arkansas to southeastern Virginia and Florida; introduced on Grand Bahama. Not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Small: average about 30 mm snout-vent. [1][2]

Solid green to brown, sometimes with darker splotches; can change colour with temperature and time of day. [1][2]

Light stripe (usually yellow, sometimes white or orange) along the upper jaw; stripe larger in males. [1][2]

Breeding males have a prominent dark green or brown vocal sac. [1][2]

Compared with the green treefrog: Larger with a white or yellowish side stripe running onto the leg. [1][2]

Compared with the pine woods treefrog: Orange or silver spots on rear thighs; raspy Morse-like call. [1][2]

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.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a squirrel treefrog before you act. Compared with the green treefrog: Larger with a white or yellowish side stripe running onto the leg.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Open woods, cities and towns and thick low vegetation near water; breeds in flooded ditches, flatwoods ponds, swamps and stock ponds. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Nocturnal, most active just after dusk and before dawn and in rain; in daylight enters torpor. [1][2]

Gives a 'rain call' from trees and bushes when rain is impending. [1][2]

Hides under loose bark, palm leaves and tree holes; lays up to about 1,000 eggs in spring or summer. [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

Coastal Plain and Mississippi Valley from southern Texas and southern Arkansas to southeastern Virginia and Florida; introduced on Grand Bahama. Not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology