''Zhangixalus arboreus'', also known as the forest green tree frog and Kinugasa flying frog, is a species of

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

in the family

Rhacophoridae The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs that occur 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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

to Japan. The 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 of ''Z. arboreus'' are

subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

, 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 at ...

es, and irrigated land. These small tree frogs spend their adult lives in trees and forests, and in breeding season gather around water sources to mate. They lay their eggs within a batch of sponge-like foam which is suspended from a tree branch, usually hanging over a pond, marsh, or slow-flowing stream. The tadpoles emerge from the eggs, wiggle their way out of the foam, and drop down into the water below. These batches of foam can often be seen hanging over ponds in the Japanese countryside in late spring. Sometimes the frogs mistakenly lay their eggs over inappropriate bodies of water, such as swimming pools, wells, or even buckets containing rainwater.

References

External links

Endemic amphibians of Japan Arboreus Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1924 {{Rhacophoridae-stub