Baja California chorus frog
{{Short description|Species of amphibian}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Baja California chorus frog
| image = Pseudacris hypochondriaca 4210.jpg
| status =
| status_system =
| taxon = Pseudacris hypochondriaca
| authority = (Hallowell, 1854)
| synonyms = Hyla scapularis var. hypochondriaca Hallowell, 1854
}}
File:PseudacrisHypochondriaca 0225.JPG]]
The Baja California chorus frog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca) is a cathemeral species of treefrog of Western North America. It was formerly considered as a population of the Pacific chorus frog (Pseudacris regilla), but was split and raised to species status in 2006. The species ranges from the West Coast of the United States from Baja California through southern California. Individuals live from sea level to more than 10,000 feet in many types of habitats, reproducing in aquatic settings.
Description
The Baja California chorus frog can grow .75 - 2 inches long from snout to vent (1.9 - 5.1 cm).{{Cite web |title=Baja California Treefrog - Pseudacris hypochondriaca hypochondriaca |url=https://californiaherps.com/frogs/pages/p.hypochondriaca.html |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=californiaherps.com}}
It has a dark stripe that extends from its nostrils through the eyes to shoulders. It can be a variety of colors, including green, tan, brown, gray, reddish, and cream, and has the ability to change color in response to environmental conditions. The dark stripe does not change color, but the body color and markings can change hue, chroma, and lightness to aide with camouflage. The belly is pale with yellow underneath the legs. There is also a Y-shaped or triangular marking between the eyes, a common feature in chorus frogs. It has large toe pads that aid it in climbing trees, although it is not technically a tree frog, and mostly a ground-dweller.
The male's throat is dark colored.
Taxonomy
Baja California chorus frogs have long been known as Pacific chorus frogs (Pseudacris regilla or Hyla regilla). However, in 2006, that taxonomic concept was split into three species based on mitochondrial DNA comparisons.{{cite journal|last1=Recuero|first1=Ernesto|last2=Martínez-Solano|first2=Íñigo|last3=Parra-Olea|first3=Gabriela|last4=García-París|first4=Mario|title=Phylogeography of Pseudacris regilla (Anura: Hylidae) in western North America, with a proposal for a new taxonomic rearrangement|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|year=2006|volume=39|issue=2|pages=293–304|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2005.10.011|url=http://naherpetology.org/pdf_files/511.pdf|pmid=16627190|access-date=2014-06-04|archive-date=2006-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927202017/http://www.naherpetology.org/pdf_files/511.pdf|url-status=usurped}} Recuero et al. attached the name Pseudacris regilla to the northern species, renaming the central species the Sierran tree frog (Pseudacris sierra) and the southern species the Baja California tree frog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca). Because the paper provided no maps or discussion of how to diagnose the species, it has been an extremely controversial taxonomic revision,Dodd, C. K., Jr. 2013. Frogs of the United States and Canada. Volume 1. xxxi + 460. but has been incorporated into Amphibian Species of the World 6.0.{{cite web |url=http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Hylidae/Hylinae/Pseudacris/Pseudacris-hypochondriaca |title=Pseudacris hypochondriaca (Hallowell, 1854) |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2015 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |accessdate=7 November 2015}} The taxonomic confusion introduced by this name change means that much of the information about Pseudacris hypochondriaca is attached to the name "Pseudacris regilla".
Cultural importance
Because this species of chorus frog is found near Hollywood, its vocalizations have frequently been used as stock sounds for film and television. As a result, its distinctive advertising call of "ribbit, ribbit" has become a standard representation of frog vocalizations in the English-speaking world, despite the fact that only it and a few closely related species actually make the sound.{{cite web|title=Sounds of the Northern Pacific Treefrog|url=http://www.californiaherps.com/frogs/pages/p.regilla.sounds.html|publisher=californiaherps.com|accessdate=2018-01-08}}{{cite web |url=https://fpdcc.com/have-you-heard-the-calls-from-cook-countys-12-frog-and-toad-species/ |title=Have You Heard the Calls from Cook County's 12 Frog and Toad Species? |website=Forest Preserves of Cook County |date=May 25, 2022 |access-date=January 25, 2024 |quote=Here's a bonus fact: you might notice that none of these species says, "ribbit." In fact, the "ribbit" call is unique to the Pacific tree frog, which lives along the Pacific coast, and, notably, in Hollywood, California, where the largest volume of early frog recordings took place.}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q4680143}}
Category:Frogs of North America
Category:Amphibians of the United States
Category:Fauna of the Baja California Peninsula
Category:Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands
Category:Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges
Category:Natural history of Baja California
Category:Natural history of San Diego County, California
Category:Amphibians described in 1854
Category:Taxa named by Edward Hallowell (herpetologist)
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