Masked Tree Frog
Smilisca phaeota
Silhouette: Dmitry Bogdanov (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAmphibia (Amphibians)
- OrderAnura (Frogs and Toads)
- FamilyHylidae (Hylid Tree Frogs)
- GenusSmilisca (Cross-banded Tree Frogs)
- SpeciesSmilisca phaeota (Masked Tree Frog)
About the Masked Tree Frog
The New Granada cross-banded tree frog (Smilisca phaeota), also known as the masked tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, plantations, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forests, ponds, and canals and ditches.
Their nickname of masked tree frog comes from the black or dark colored markings that start at their nose and go back along the face toward their ear, covering their eye. Because it goes across their eye, it can help with camouflage, as many predators find prey by their open eyes.
Media related to Smilisca phaeota at Wikimedia Commons Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Darién National Park
Pugnosed Tree Frog
Smilisca sila
Milk Frog
Trachycephalus macrotis
Rusty Tree Frog
Boana boans
Red Snouted Tree Frog
Scinax ruber
Yellow Treefrog
Dendropsophus microcephalus
Caracas Snouted Tree Frog
Scinax rostratus
Rosenberg's Gladiator Frog
Boana rosenbergi
Boulenger's Snouted Tree Frog
Scinax boulengeri
La Loma Tree Frog
Hyloscirtus colymba
San Carlos Treefrog
Dendropsophus phlebodes
Harlequin Treefrog
Dendropsophus ebraccatus
Red-webbed Tree Frog
Boana rufitela
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.