''Zhangixalus omeimontis'' 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 ...

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 co ...

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 else ...

to China. Its common name is Omei whipping frog or Omei treefrog, in reference to its type locality,

Mount Emei Mount Emei (; ), alternately Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of the Sichuan Basin. The mountains west of it are know ...

() in

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

. It is found in southern and central China in

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

, Guangxi,

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

, and

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

provinces. It is a relatively common frog that inhabits forests, and sometimes farmland. It breeds in still water (pools and ponds). Agriculture and logging are threats to this species.

Description

''Zhangixalus omeimontis'' are moderately large frogs: males grow to a snout–vent length of about and females to . Maximum sizes can be even higher, reaching at least in males and in females. They tend to be bigger and older at cooler sites (i.e., at higher altitudes). Maximum age is at least eight years.

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 ...

s are up to in length.

Reproduction

''Zhangixalus omeimontis'' breed between mid-April and late July. Breeding takes place during night-time. Males arrive before females, climbing in the vegetation close to a pond and calling while perched on stems or leaves. When a male spots an approaching female, it approaches the female and clasps her. The pair then moves to oviposition site above the pond. The female then makes a foam nest while the pair is in

amplexus Amplexus (Latin "embrace") is a type of mating behavior exhibited by some externally fertilizing species (chiefly amphibians and horseshoe crabs) in which a male grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process, and at the same ...

. In addition to the first male, several other males may join, forming a spawning group. The primary male often leaves the female before she has spawned all her eggs. Clutch size is several hundred eggs, with one study finding a range of 457–837 eggs. Eggs diameter is about ; diameter and clutch size are negatively correlated (big clutches tend to contain smaller eggs). Eggs hatch after about 12 to 17 days. The eggs are placed on upper leaf surfaces, facilitating the washing of

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 ...

s into breeding ponds by rainfall.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3315540 omeimontis Amphibians of China Endemic fauna of China Taxa named by Leonhard Stejneger Amphibians described in 1924 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot