tree toad

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. See tree frog.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. Any arboreal toad, usually of the family Hylidæ. They are true toads (in the sense of being bufoniform batrachians), though often miscalled tree-frogs. They are provided with adhesive suckers on the ends of the toes with which to cling, and many are noted for their chameleon-like changes of color. There is only one European tree-toad, Hyla arborea. The corresponding species in the United States is H. versicolor, about two inches long, and of variegated as well as changeable colors. The shrill piping heard in spring and summer in many parts of the United States is made by tree-toads, as Acris gryllus, A. crepitans, Hyla pickeringi, and H. versicolor, as well as by some of the small Hylidæ which are aquatic, as Helœcetes triseriatus. The species of tree-toads are very numerous, ahout 175 in number, of which by far the greater part inhabit tropical America. Those of the genus Phyllomedusa are usually included among the Hylidæ. The lichened tree-toad is Trachycephalus lichenatus, of th e same family. Members of the genus Amphignathodon (of a different family) are of arboreal habits, and resemble the Hylidæ. Some true frogs (raniform batrachians) are also of arboreal habits, and to these the name tree-frog should be, though it is not, restricted. See tree-frog and cut under Phyllomedusa.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) See under Tree.
2. n. (Zoöl.) any one of numerous species of amphibians belonging to Hyla and allied genera of the family Hylidæ. They are related to the common frogs and toads, but have the tips of the toes expanded into suckers by means of which they cling to the bark and leaves of trees. Only one species (Hyla arborea) is found in Europe, but numerous species occur in America and Australia. The common tree toad of the Northern United States (Hyla versicolor) is noted for the facility with which it changes its colors. Called also tree frog. See also Piping frog, under Piping, and Cricket frog, under Cricket.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. arboreal amphibians usually having adhesive disks at the tip of each toe; of southeast Asia and Australia and America