''Zhangixalus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

s in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Rhacophorinae,

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Rhacophoridae. They are collectively known as Zhang's treefrogs. They occur in the Eastern Himalayas, southern China, Taiwan, Japan, and southeast Asia.

Etymology

The name of the genus honors Zhang Ya-Ping from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in recognition to his contributions to biodiversity and evolution research in China, in combination with ''ixalus'', a common generic root for treefrogs.

Taxonomy

''Zhangixalus'' was erected in a 2019 revision of the then very large genus '' Rhacophorus'' (92 species) that was split in three lineages: ''Rhacophorus'' sensu stricto (then 39 species; as of November 2021, 43 species), resurrected '' Leptomantis'' (then 14 species; as of November 2021, 13 species), and ''Zhangixalus'' (then 37 species; as of November 2021, 40 species). The split was based on molecular data, but was supported by morphological characteristics and differences in geographic distribution. ''Rhacophorus'' is the sister taxon to the clade formed by ''Zhangixalus'' and ''Leptomantis''.

Description

''Zhangixalus'' are relatively large frogs, ranging between in snout–vent length, but typically more than . The snout is rounded. The terminal phalanges of fingers and toes are Y-shaped. Dorsal skin is smooth or scattered with small tubercles. Most species have green dorsal coloration. Reproduction involves white foam nests produced by breeding pairs. ''Zhangixalus'', as delimited by Jiang and colleagues, includes a deeply divergent clade containing '' Z. achantharrhena'', '' Z. dulitensis'', and '' Z. prominanus''. They differ from other ''Zhangixalus'' by possessing dermal folds along limbs and tarsal projections. The placement of these species is tentative, pending further study. ''Zhangixalus'' are mostly larger than their closest relative, ''Leptomantis'', and have generally green dorsal coloration, instead of light tan or reddish brown. They differ from ''Rhacophorus'' sensu stricto by lacking dermal folds along limbs and tarsal projections.

Species

There are 43 recognized species: The AmphibiaWeb recognizes the same species except ''Zhangixalus amamiensis'', which is treated as being part of ''Zhangixalus viridis''.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q84469552 Rhacophoridae Amphibian genera Amphibians of Asia