Osteological development of C ope's G ray T reefrog, H yla chrysoscelis

H yla chrysoscelis , C ope's G ray T reefrog, is a generalized treefrog found throughout much of east‐central N orth A merica. Although it is a model for many behavioural and ecological studies, little is known of its skeletal morphology or development. Herein, we describe the postembryonic skeletal development and adult osteology of H . chrysoscelis . The adult skull is well ossified with slight dermal ornamentation, the postcranial and tadpole skeletons are fairly non‐distinct with no obvious novel morphologies, and the G osner stage by which bony elements first appear varies. We compare the rank order sequence of ossification to that of its sibling species H yla versicolor and use examples from this study to demonstrate current complications with conducting ossification sequence meta‐analyses.