The Mediterranean tree frog (''Hyla meridionalis''), or stripeless tree frog, 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 ...

found in south-west Europe and north-west Africa. It resembles the

European tree frog The European tree frog (''Hyla arborea'') is a small tree frog. As traditionally defined, it was found throughout much of Europe, Asia and northern Africa,Frost, Darrel R. ''Amphibian Species of the World''. Allen Press, Inc., 1985, p. 126. but b ...

, but is larger (some females are up to long), has longer hind legs, and the flank stripe only reaches to the front legs (often starting at the eyes, not at the nostrils). The croaking resembles that of ''H. arborea'', but it is deeper and slower. The Hyla meridionalis generally breed from the end of March through the beginning of July; their breeding is dependent on a few variables, including water availability. The strapless tree frog has a larval period of 15 days.

Distribution

This frog is found in central and southern Portugal, Spain (from

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

and

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

), southern France, northern Italy (only

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

), Morocco, northern Algeria and northern Tunisia. It also has ancient introduced populations in Madeira and the Canary Islands and a recent introduction in

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

References

* Stöck M., Dubey S., Klütsch C., Litvinchuk S. N., Schleidt U., and Perrin N. (2008): Mitochondrial and nuclear phylogeny of circum-Mediterranean tree frogs from the Hyla arborea group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49: 1019-1024.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q610523 Hyla Fauna of the Canary Islands Amphibians of Europe Frogs of Africa Amphibians described in 1874