''Buergeria robusta'' (robust Buerger's frog or strong stream frog) is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family

Rhacophoridae The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China and Taiwan, south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are commonly known as ...

. It is

sympatric In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

with ''

Buergeria choui ''Buergeria'' is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, and the sole genus of subfamily Buergeriinae. It is the sister taxon for all the other rhacophorids (subfamily Rhacophorinae). The available genetic data firmly supports this positio ...

'' and ''

Buergeria otai ''Buergeria otai'' is a species of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. It is Endemism, endemic to Taiwan and found in the eastern and southern parts of the island. ''Buergeria choui'', with whom ''Buergeria otai'' was confused before being species ...

'' but is much larger in size.

Habitat and distribution

The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, where it is known by the name brown tree frog. ''Buergeria robusta'' is a common and widespread species found at low to medium altitudes. These frogs live mainly near the creeks or streams. They are locally threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

; they are also collected for consumption. The genetic landscape of ''Buergeria robusta'' presents high congruence to the topography of Taiwan; populations on the eastern and western sides of the

Central Mountain Range The Central Mountain Range is the principal mountain range on the island of Taiwan. It runs from the north of the island to the south. It acts as a barrier between the east and west coasts, hindering travel. The tallest peak of the range is ...

showed a prominent genetic divergence.

Description

''Buergeria robusta'' are medium to large-sized treefrogs. Their body is stocky; males grow to in snout-vent length and females to . The skin of the dorsum is smooth. The colour varies with the environment from brown or gray to greenish and to even yellow. Breeding season is from February to September, when males can be found sitting and calling on tops of rocks. Eggs are deposited directly in water, without making a foam nest.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q706012

robusta ROBUSTA (Radiation on Bipolar for University Satellite Test Application) is a nano-satellite scientific experiment developed by the University of Montpellier students as part of a Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) call for student proje ...

Amphibians of Taiwan Endemic fauna of Taiwan Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Amphibians described in 1909 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot