''Kurixalus berylliniris'' is a species of

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely relat ...

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 ...

. It is

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 ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and occurs in the eastern part of the island at moderate elevations. Prior to its

description Description is the pattern of narrative development that aims to make vivid a place, object, character, or group. Description is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...

in 2016, it was confused with ''

Kurixalus eiffingeri ''Kurixalus eiffingeri'' (Eiffinger's Tree Frog) is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is found in Taiwan and on the Yaeyama Islands of Japan. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical o ...

''. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''berylliniris'' combines the Latin words ''beryllin'' (meaning "green-colored") and ''iris'', in reference to the green

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

of this frog.

Taxonomy and systematics

''Kurixalus berylliniris'' was described in 2016. It resembles ''Kurixalus eiffingeri'' but displays some morphological differences and a different reproductive season. Furthermore, molecular data and male advertisement call differentiate it from ''Kurixalus eiffingeri'' and '' Kurixalus wangi'', its

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

. Together these three species form a lineage that is clearly separate from '' Kurixalus idiootocus'', the fourth ''Kurixalus'' species in Taiwan. Kurixalus berylliniris light form

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

. The overall appearance is moderately slender and somewhat flattened. The head is wider than it is long. The tip of the snout is pointed; the snout is obtuse in lateral view. The

canthus rostralis In snakes and amphibians, the canthus, canthal ridge or ''canthus rostralis'',Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. . is the angle between the flat crown of the head and the ...

is curved and prominent. The tympanum is distinct, about half of the eye diameter; supratympanic fold is present. The limbs are slender. The finger and toe tips are expanded into discs. The fingers are slightly webbed and the toes up to about half-webbed. Dorsal skin is granular with small tubercles. There are two color morphs, dark and light. The dark form is dark green to deep tan and has a black X-shaped blotch together with some irregular blotches; the tympanum is light yellowish-brown with small dark spots. The light form is light emerald green, with an obscured dorsal X-pattern. The venter is cream, sprinkled with minute black spots in the

gular Gular is of or pertaining to the throat, and may more specifically refer to: * Gular scales in reptiles * Gular scute, or gular projection, in turtles and tortoises * Gular fold in lizards * Gular skin, or gular sac, in birds and some gibbons Ot ...

region. The iris is emerald to light green.

Distribution

This species occurs in eastern Taiwan south of central Hualien, on the eastern slopes of the

Central Mountain Range The Central Mountain Range is the principal mountain range on the island of Taiwan. It runs from the north of the island to the south. Due to this separation, connecting between the west and east is not very convenient. The tallest peak of th ...

and in the Coastal Mountain Range.

Habitat and conservation

''Kurixalus berylliniris'' has been recorded in moist broad-leaf forests and forest edges at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It is

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

. Eggs and

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s have been found in small pools of water in decaying trunks of tree ferns ''

Cyathea spinulosa ''Alsophila spinulosa'', also known as the flying spider-monkey tree fern, is a species of tree fern in the family Cyatheaceae The Cyatheaceae are a family of ferns, the scaly tree ferns, one of eight families in the order Cyatheales in the ...

''. The tadpoles are oophagous. As of late 2018, this species had not been included in 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 the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q22348485 berylliniris Amphibians of Taiwan Endemic fauna of Taiwan Amphibians described in 2016