Osteopilus septentrionalis
Silhouette: Dmitry Bogdanov (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) is a large species of tree frog that is native to Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands; but has become invasive in several other places around the Americas. Its wide diet and ability to thrive in urban areas has made it a highly invasive species with established colonies in places such as Florida, the Hawaiian island of Oahu, and the Caribbean Islands. These tree frogs can vary in size from 2 to 5.5 inches (5 to 12.7 cm) in length. Due to their large size, Cuban tree frogs can eat a wide variety of things, particularly native tree frogs, and their removal has shown to result in an increase in the amount of native tree frogs in an area. The tadpoles of Cuban tree frogs also heavily compete with native frog tadpoles, which can cause negative effects in body mass, size at metamorphosis, and growth rates for the native tadpoles.
Cuban tree frogs are the largest tree frogs in North America, ranging from 2 to 5.5 inches or (5 to 12.7 cm) in length. Cuban tree frogs are mostly gray, brown, or green, with young frogs having more green coloration than adults. These frogs have rough, warty skin with blotchy or mottled patterning... Wikipedia →
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United States · 2018
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United States · 2025
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| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Ciénaga de Zapata | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 3 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audubon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | ZooTampa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Houston Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Wild Bird Fund | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cuban Treefrog sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 79 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 9 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Cuban Treefrog in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against about 10% in January–February and November, the lowest months. That is one of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge's wettest months, with about 170 mm of rain against 50 mm in March.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cuban Treefrog sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Cuban Treefrog sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 50%), Ciénaga de Zapata (Cuba, about 40%) and Everglades National Park (United States, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Hylidae
The closest relatives of the Cuban Treefrog that you can see in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (family Hylidae, Hylid Tree Frogs) are Green Treefrog (about 10%) and Southern Cricket Frog (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cuban Treefrog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (79 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
