As I said, Hyla regilla is one of the closest relatives of the frogs in the genus Pseudacris. The hippopotamus is the closest living relative of the whales. There are some biologists who believe that Hyla regilla should be made a member of Pseudacris, and there are also biologists who believe that the hippo should be included in the same taxon as the whales.



The hippo is not a whale, and the Pacific treefrog is not a Pseudacris. Morphological features that define whales as a natural group evolved after the hippo and the whales last shared a common ancestor. Morphological features that define Pseudacris also evolved after Hyla regilla and Pseudacris last shared a common ancestor. Therefore the taxon that comprises whales should exclude the hippo, and Pseudacris should exclude Hyla regilla. In sum, the proposal to include Hyla regilla in Pseudacris is just as ridiculous as the proposal to classify the hippo as a whale. Even though the hippo spends a lot of time in the water and Hyla regilla spends a lot of time on the ground, these are not good reasons to classify Hyla regilla as a Pseudacris or the hippo as a whale.

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