The Tyrrhenian painted frog (''Discoglossus sardus'') 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

Alytidae The Alytidae are a family of primitive frogs. Their common name is painted frogs or midwife toads. Most are endemic to Europe, but three species occur in northwest Africa, and a species formerly thought to be extinct is found in Israel. This fam ...

(formerly Discoglossidae).

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 the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

basin, it is found in a handful of Western Mediterranean islands, namely

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, Corsica, and the Tuscan Archipelago. A species with high stakes in terms of conservation, it is very similar to the related Corsican painted frog, ''Discoglossus montalentii'', with whom it shares part of its habitat in Corsica. Its 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 are temperate

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s, intermittent rivers, 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 a ...

es, and intermittent freshwater marshes. It can be found from sea level up to more than 1 700 meters of altitude. Able to endure slight water pollution, it is nevertheless threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. The species isn't immediately threatened and is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the

IUCN Red List 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 biol ...

. It still fragile and subject to several threats justifying strong conservation efforts in both France and Italy, where it is fully protected and part of Annex 2 of the

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The E ...

. On top of habitat loss caused by urbanization, the species is sensible to

chytridiomycosis Chytridiomycosis ( ) is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' and '' Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans''. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extinc ...

, a skin disease threatening amphibian species across the globe. Not well known from the wider public, the Tyrrhenian painted frog figures among the emblematic species of several protected area, including the

Port-Cros National Park Port-Cros National Park (french: Parc national de Port-Cros) is a French national park established on the Mediterranean island of Port-Cros, east of Toulon. It also administers natural areas in some surrounding locales. History The park was fo ...

in France.

Description

The Tyrrhenian painted frog is a short amphibian species of robust build, ranging from in length. Its color varies from dark brown to grey, black or reddish brown. Lighter spots are very commonplace, with plain individuals being rare. Most of the time, a large light spot is present between the shoulders and a large dark spot between the eyes, with a lighter, straight front edge. A bright crescent-shaped spot can sometimes be present on the top of the head between the snout and the midpoint of the eyes, near the

shoulder girdle The shoulder girdle or pectoral girdle is the set of bones in the appendicular skeleton which connects to the arm on each side. In humans it consists of the clavicle and scapula; in those species with three bones in the shoulder, it consists of ...

. The belly is yellowish to cream white. The pupil is shaped like a reverse droplet, with the iris divided between a lighter golden upper half and a darker lower half, as characteristic of ''

Discoglossus ''Discoglossus'' (common name: painted frogs) is a genus of frogs in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae) found in southern Europe and northwestern Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, ...

''. As with other species of the genus, the eardrum is barely visible. Skin is most often smooth. However, during mating season, males present a dry, rough skin. Soft warts are present on the neck and limbs, often in line patterns. The head is larger than it is wide, with the snout being slightly pointed and thinned out - noticeably more so than ''D. montalentii''. The fourth finger of its front foot is spatulated rather than tapering and its hind legs are shorter.

Distribution and habitat

The Tyrrhenian painted frog is found in most parts of the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, but it is not present in the central highlands. It is also present on several small islands in the

, such as Iles d'Hyères, Giglio,

Montecristo Montecristo, also Monte Cristo (, ) and formerly Oglasa ( grc, Ὠγλάσσα, Ōglássa), is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea and part of the Tuscan Archipelago. Administratively it belongs to the municipality of Portoferraio in the province ...

, and the

Monte Argentario Monte Argentario is a ''comune'' (municipality) and a peninsula belonging to the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about south of Florence and about south of Grosseto. The peninsula is connected with the mainland by thre ...

peninsula in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

. Its habitats include coastal plains, forest streams, maquis shrubland, and upland coniferous forests. Slow streams and pools are used for breeding, and this frog can tolerate brackish water.

Biology

Like other members of its family, the Corsican painted frog eats small invertebrates. Whether observations of this frog in the past were of ''D. sardus'' or ''D. montalentii'' is unclear, because they are so similar in appearance and were only recognised as different species in the late 20th century. Consequently, its reproductive habits are uncertain, but it is believed to lay its eggs in small groups or singly on the bottom of watercourses. They are brownish-black and in diameter with a thick, gelatinous casing.

Status

The IUCN has listed this frog as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

. The populations in Corsica and Sardinia seem stable, but mainland populations are decreasing and populations on smaller islands may suffer from lack of genetic diversity. The main threats faced by this frog are degradation of its woodland and aquatic habitats, but it seems adaptable and able to tolerate some disturbance to its habitat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1811013 Discoglossus Amphibians of Europe Fauna of Corsica Fauna of Sardinia Tyrrhenian Sea Least concern biota of Europe Amphibians described in 1837 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot