''Zhangixalus arvalis'' 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

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 ...

to western and southwestern Taiwan and is present in agricultural areas of

Chiayi Chiayi (,), officially known as Chiayi City, is a Provincial city (Taiwan), city located in Chianan Plain in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan, surrounded by Chiayi County with a population of 263,188 inhabitants as of January 2023. The H ...

Yunlin Yunlin is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County to the north at the Zhuoshui River, and Chiayi County to the south at the Beigang River. It has a population ...

, and

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

. Common name farmland green treefrog has been coined for it.

Description

''Zhangixalus arvalis'' is a medium-sized treefrog; adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The tympanum is visible, but it is dorsally and posteriorly concealed by the thin supratympanic fold. The fingers and the toes have well-developed discs and are webbed; webbing is weakly developed between the fingers but more prominent between the toes. Skin is granulated. The dorsum varies from dark green, green, yellowish-green, to nearly yellow. The upper lip is white, and the white color continues as a white stripe on the flanks; flank below the white stripe is dark purple. The lower lip and edge of gular region are silver gray to white.

Habitat and conservation

''Zhangixalus arvalis'' occurs in disturbed lowland (elevations below ) agricultural areas where traditional farming practices prevails; it inhabits bamboo forests, orchards, sugar-cane fields, scrubland, and cultivated fields. Reproduction involves a lek-type mating system where males form a chorus group on twigs or leaves near canopy. Female selects a male and carries him down to the damp forest floor (usually a temporary pool), digs a hole, lays foamy eggs in the nest, and then covers the nest with decomposed bamboo leaves or other plant material. The development to

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

takes about 40 days. The population of ''Zhangixalus arvalis'' is fragmented. It is 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 ...

caused by infrastructure development for industry and human settlement, and by

agricultural pollution Agricultural pollution refers to biotic and abiotic byproducts of farming practices that result in contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems, and/or cause injury to humans and their economic interests. The po ...

. Conservation measures include maintaining traditional agricultural practices. Taiwan Wildlife Conservation Act classifies its as endangered, as does the

IUCN 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 an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q717815 arvalis Amphibians of Taiwan Endemic fauna of Taiwan Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1995

Description

Habitat and conservation

See also

References