Reptiles and Amphibians of the Table Rocks

Pacific Treefrog

Pseudoacris regilla

Pseudoacris regilla

You may hear my high-pitched, two-part musical note in the spring or in the movies. Hollywood moviemakers like to use my call as an authentic outdoor nighttime sound.

My rough skin varies in color from green to light tan to black. I often have dark spots on my body and a black stripe or mask through my eyes. The pads on my toes help me to climb trees and stick to surfaces. I have a sticky tongue to catch insects.

On the Table Rocks you most commonly find me in the spring around the vernal pools. I like to live on the ground among shrubs and grass, close to water. I use the vernal pools as the nursery to raise my young. When I am young, I am a tadpole and breathe through gills and eat plant material while living in the vernal pools. I will develop lungs and eat insects after metamorphosis. After metamorphosis I can leave the water.

The vernal pools are only present for a short time of the year. Sometimes the pools dry up before I have metamorphosed from a tadpole to a froglet. If I have not developed lungs before the pools dry up I will die.

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