The Italian tree frog (''Hyla intermedia'') is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as " tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and ...

, found in Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, and possibly

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are temperate

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

s, intermittent rivers, freshwater

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es, intermittent freshwater marshes,

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

, and

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Description

The Italian tree frog is very similar in colouring to the European tree frog of which it was previously believed to be a subspecies.Duellman, William E. ''Grzimek's Animal Encyclopedia''. 2nd Ed., Vol. 2. Gale, 2003, p. 235. It grows to a length of and females are usually larger than males. The skin on the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

surface is smooth and bright green. The

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

surface is whitish and clearly demarcated from the dorsal surface by a beige line. A black stripe extends from the eye to the armpit. The female has a white throat while the male has a golden brown one with an inflatable vocal sac. The hind legs are longer than the forelegs and the digits of the hands and feet end in adhesive discs.

Distribution and habitat

The Italian tree frog is native to Italy and Sicily. Is very rare in southern Switzerland and a small area of western Slovenia close to the Italian border. It is found in lowland woods, forests, mountain valleys and wet habitats such as reed beds, at altitudes of up to .

Biology

The Italian tree frog is able to climb bushes and trees and move around the countryside via hedgerows, ditches and canals. It feeds on small invertebrates such as

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "lit ...

es and

midge A midge is any small fly, including species in several families of non- mosquito Nematoceran Diptera. Midges are found (seasonally or otherwise) on practically every land area outside permanently arid deserts and the frigid zones. Some m ...

s. In the breeding season, dominant males establish

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

near a pond, paddy field, or other area of water and advertise themselves by calling. Each call consists of a repeated series of six to ten pulses which start quietly and increase in intensity and which varies in frequency and pulse rate between different males. Females appear to take notice of various attributes of the calls when choosing a male. Other male frogs, known as "satellites" and often rather smaller than the calling males, may lurk nearby and try to intercept females attracted by the territorial males' calls, a form of parasitism.

Status

The IUCN has rated the Italian tree frog as being of "

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

" in its

Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolog ...

. This is because it is quite common in Italy and its population size seems stable. Though it is likely to be threatened by habitat loss and possibly by water pollution, it faces no other particular threats.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q338596 Hyla Amphibians described in 1882 Amphibians of Europe Fauna of Switzerland Fauna of Slovenia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot