November 5, 2015

Late vignette: Wildlife Wednesday

Big voice on this little guy.

When I moved here two years ago, the first wild critter (birds aside) that I spotted in the yard was a treefrog. I'm delighted to hear (and see) them more and more often in my garden. You can hear lots of them singing in the arroyo. They live in surrounding gardens as well, and are occasionally swept down into my yard when an uphill neighbor forgets to turn off a dribbling hose. This little one, spotted at night next to my new Opuntia robusta, is a Baja California Treefrog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca hypochondriaca). Love that Latin name — I might borrow it if I become a rap artist. Treefrogs in the inland foothill chaparral? Yep. From the great CalHerps site:
The name "treefrog" is not entirely accurate. This frog is chiefly a ground-dweller, living among shrubs and grass typically near water, but occasionally it can also be found climbing high in vegetation. Its large toe pads allow it to climb easily, and cling to branches, twigs, and grass.
The Baja California Treefrog's range overlaps the range of the California Treefrog. Different voices! The Baja California Treefrog makes the classic "ribbit." You can follow the links and compare their calls.

The Wednesday Vignette meme is hosted by Anna over at Flutter & Hum.



6 comments:

  1. LOL, the thought of you morphing into a rap artist named Pseudacris hypochondriaca is just too funny. But hey, there's already one named Lucacris so Pseudacris would fit right in!

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  2. Both pseudo and hypochondriac in its name...? I wonder what that means...? I need to actively seek out the company of frogs in my garden - I absolutely love their song. A long time ago when I was interning for the US Park Service, I lived in a place where the nights were alive with frog song. I will never forget it - it was wonderful! Thanks for jogging my memories, Luisa!

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    1. Pseudacris (my new rap name) means either "false locust" or "false [another frog species]," says Wiki, and from Google re the species name: "via late Latin from Greek hupokhondria, denoting the soft body area below the ribs, from hupo ‘under’ + khondros ‘sternal cartilage.’ Melancholy was originally thought to arise from the liver, gallbladder, spleen, etc." I learn something new every day!

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  3. I so miss hearing frogs. There were always tadpoles and frogs about when I was growing up in one of SoCal's inland valleys but they've been entirely missing from my adult years. I've got lots and lots of lizards, though.

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    1. It's such a dry area here that I'm always surprised when I see a frog. Saw two lizards yesterday! I long for a time when I see a lizard every time I step outside. If the California Cactus Center in Pasadena has millions of them...

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