I thought I was well-versed on Hyla andersonii, but now I've been told that they have been found in Michigan... several years ago, in fact. True, or just talk? Thanks!
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Pine Woods Treefrog
lakebum1716
Apr 22, 2008 05:38 PM
Replies (3)
lakebum1716
Apr 23, 2008 12:38 AM
Same question, though: has there ever been a confirmed sighting in Michigan?
batrachos
Apr 23, 2008 03:37 PM
According to the USGS amphibian atlas (http://igsaceeswb00.er.usgs.gov:8080/mapserver/naa/), no.
A displaced individual is always possible, but a naturally occurring population of H. andersoni in Michigan would give it one of the strangest biogeographic distribution patterns I've ever heard of. It is possible that an old specimen of some other Michigan frog in a museum somewhere was misidentified as H. andersoni, from the days when decent field manuals were unavailable. This has happened with H. squirella in Illinois (misidentified Pseudacris sp.) and Ambystoma jeffersonianum in Tennessee (misidentified Plethodon sp.)
CKing
Jul 19, 2008 11:49 PM
>>I thought I was well-versed on Hyla andersonii, but now I've been told that they have been found in Michigan... several years ago, in fact. True, or just talk? Thanks!
Hyla andersonii is not the Pine Woods treefrog, but the Pine Barrens treefrog. The Pine Woods treefrog is Hyla femoralis. Biochemical and morphological data show that all of the species of Hyla and Pseudacris native to the USA (and the Eurasian species of Hyla) are descended from a single common ancestor that is most likely a member of the Hyla eximia species group. So, many of them do look alike sometimes and misidentification is certainly possible.
