Yellow-Lemon Treefrog
Hyla savignyi
A harmless treefrog of dry country in south-eastern Georgia. It does not occur throughout the country.
Overview
What is Yellow-Lemon Treefrog
The yellow-lemon treefrog (Hyla savignyi) is a harmless treefrog of south-eastern Georgia’s dry country. The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as biologically confirmed. Adults are usually about 3–5 cm long. It is not dangerous to people. It does not occur throughout Georgia. Look for it in the Iori valley, around Vashlovani, and south-east of Tbilisi — in steppe, shrub and near water, not in humid Colchic forest. Old records from western Georgia are treated as errors. In the rest of the country a treefrog is usually the eastern treefrog (Hyla orientalis). Older books often listed it as Hyla arborea savignyi. It is now a separate species. The checklist uses the subspecies H. s. savignyi. In eastern Georgia the two treefrogs meet with little overlap; gene flow across that contact zone is not fully resolved.
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Identification
How to identify Yellow-Lemon Treefrog
A small, smooth-skinned treefrog with sticky pads on the toe tips. In Georgia it is most often confused with the eastern treefrog; place is often more reliable than colour.
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The body is short and the skin is smooth. Rounded sticky pads on the toe tips separate a treefrog from marsh frogs and toads. Adults are usually about 3–5 cm long.
- 02
The back is usually light green or yellowish, without spots. Colour can change with temperature and background. A dark side stripe often runs without a loop at the groin; that stripe alone is unreliable, because some eastern treefrogs show the same mark.
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A dark spot on the upper lip below the eye is usually absent. The eardrum is smaller than the eye. The eyes are large. These marks help, but they are not enough on their own to split the two Georgian treefrogs.
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The eastern treefrog (Hyla orientalis) is the same genus. It occurs through most of Georgia except this species’ range. The yellow-lemon treefrog lives in drier, less forested country south-east of Tbilisi. The breeding call differs. In the contact zone, including around Telavi, appearance can be intermediate.
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The marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) is larger, stays in water and lacks sticky toe pads. Toads have warty skin and do not climb like treefrogs.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
In Georgia this is a treefrog of drier ground, not of closed forest. Look for it in steppe, shrub, gardens and near water — pools, ponds or slow streams. It may also appear on dry slopes far from water. This atlas marks Kakheti. The 2026 checklist DNA sample is from Dali Reservoir (Dedoplistskaro, Iori). Named sites also include woods along the Iori and Vashlovani Reserve. The Alazani valley is mentioned in the literature without a precise point. A well-documented older locality is south of Tbilisi. The Telavi population shows mixed characters and is not treated here as pure H. savignyi. The South Caucasus biodiversity map summarises the range as south-east of Tbilisi. Elevation in Georgia is not established on this page. The range continues in Armenia, western Azerbaijan, Anatolia and the Near East.
Diet
There is no separate Georgian diet study on this page. At species level, adults take invertebrates, mainly insects. Tadpoles eat algae and plant debris.
Behavior
By day it often sits on leaves or shrubs, or hides under stones, logs and in burrows. It breeds in small, mostly still water — ponds, puddles and sometimes slow brooks with dense herb and shrub cover. Breeding males call; the call differs from that of the eastern treefrog. A precise seasonal calendar for Georgia is not given here. If you find one, leave it where it is. Do not pick it up or move it between water bodies. Wash your hands after any contact. It is not a medical risk to people.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern: the range is wide and the population is thought to be large. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List. The South Caucasus biodiversity map also treats the national status as Least Concern. Local numbers can still fall if breeding pools dry or become polluted. Part of the Georgian range lies in or near Vashlovani and Chachuna. The contact zone with H. orientalis in eastern Georgia is not fully studied.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Yellow-Lemon Treefrog.
Yes. The 2026 checklist treats it as biologically confirmed. The DNA sample is from Dali Reservoir.
In the south-east, especially Kakheti — the Iori valley, Dali Reservoir, Vashlovani — and south of Tbilisi. Do not expect it in western Georgia or humid forest. The map marks Kakheti.
No. It has no venom and is harmless to people. Do not pick it up. Wash your hands after any contact.
A small green or yellowish frog with smooth skin and sticky pads on the toes. In Georgia, place matters: this species is the dry south-east treefrog.
Both are treefrogs. This species is often smaller and paler, but colour is not reliable in the field. Range is more useful: this species is the dry country south-east of Tbilisi; the eastern treefrog occupies most of the rest of Georgia. In the contact zone they can look alike.
Adults are usually about 3–5 cm from snout to vent. Separate Georgian measurements are not given on this page.
Adults take invertebrates, mainly insects. There is no Georgian diet study on this page. Tadpoles eat algae.
Watch it and leave it where it is. Do not pick it up. It is not a medical risk to people.
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Tarkhnishvili 1996 — The distribution and ecology of the amphibians of Georgia and the Caucasus
- Tarkhnishvili & Gokhelashvili 1999 — The amphibians of the Caucasus (AmphibiaWeb species account)
- Frost — Amphibian Species of the World (Hyla savignyi)
- Kuzmin et al. — IUCN Red List (Hyla savignyi)
- National Geographic Georgia / National Museum — Yellow-lemon Treefrog map
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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