# About the Tree frog **URL:** https://reptilecommunity.com/t/about-the-tree-frog/30 **Category:** Tree frogs **Created:** [July 18, 2025, 10:08am UTC](https://reptilecommunity.com/t/about-the-tree-frog/30 "2025-07-18T10:08:35Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![ReptileCommunity](https://reptilecommunity.com/user_avatar/reptilecommunity.com/reptilecommunity/32/3_2.png) [@ReptileCommunity](https://reptilecommunity.com/u/ReptileCommunity) #### Post date: [July 18, 2025, 10:08am UTC](https://reptilecommunity.com/t/about-the-tree-frog/30/1 "2025-07-18T10:08:35Z")
A **tree frog** (or **treefrog** ) is any species of [frog](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog) that spends a major portion of its lifespan in [trees](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree), known as an [arboreal](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arboreal) state.[[1]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_frog#cite_note-1) Several [lineages](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lineage_(evolution)) of frogs among the [Neobatrachia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neobatrachia) suborder have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely related to each other. Millions of years of [convergent evolution](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_evolution) have resulted in very similar [morphology](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphology_(biology)) even in species that are not very closely related.[[2]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_frog#cite_note-2) Furthermore, tree frogs in seasonally arid environments have adapted an extra-epidermal layer of lipid and mucus as an evolutionary convergent response to accommodate the periodic dehydration stress. As the name implies, these frogs are typically found in trees or other high-growing vegetation. They do not normally descend to the ground, except to mate and [spawn](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spawn_(biology)), though some build foam nests on leaves and rarely leave the trees at all as adults, and _[Eleutherodactylus](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleutherodactylus)_ has evolved direct development and therefore does not need water for a tadpole stage. Tree frogs are usually tiny as their weight has to be carried by the branches and twigs in their [habitats](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat). While some reach 10 cm (4 in) or more, they are typically smaller and more slender than terrestrial frogs. Tree frogs typically have well-developed discs at the finger and toe tips, they rely on several attachment mechanisms that vary with circumstances, tree frogs require static and dynamic, adhesive and frictional, reversible and repeatable force generation; the fingers and toes themselves, as well as the limbs, tend to be rather small, resulting in a superior grasping ability. The genus _[Chiromantis](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiromantis)_ of the [Rhacophoridae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhacophoridae) is most extreme in this respect: it can oppose two fingers to the other two, resulting in a [vise](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vise_(tool))-like grip. Tree frogs are members of these [families](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_(biology)) or genera: - [Hylidae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylidae), or “true” treefrogs, occur in the [temperate](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperate) to tropical parts of [Eurasia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasia) north of the [Himalayas](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayas), [Australia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_(continent)) and the [Americas](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas). - [Rhacophoridae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhacophoridae), or shrub frogs, are the treefrogs of [tropical](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical) regions around the [Indian Ocean](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean): [Africa](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa), [South Asia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia) and [Southeast Asia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia) east to [Lydekker’s line](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lydekker). A few also occur in [East Asia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asia). - [Centrolenidae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrolenidae), or glass frogs, are potentially closely related to hylids; these translucent frogs are native to Central and South America. - [Hyperoliidae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperoliidae), or reed frogs, are closely related to the burrowing [Microhylidae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microhylidae); these small frogs are native to sub-Saharan Africa. - _[Boophis](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boophis)_ is a genus of highly arboreal frogs which evolved from the toxic terrestrial [Mantellidae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantellidae) of Madagascar.