''Zhangixalus arvalis'' 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 ...
.
[ 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 ...
to western and southwestern Taiwan and is present in agricultural areas of Chiayi, Yunlin
Yunlin County ( Mandarin pinyin: ''Yúnlín Xiàn''; Taigi POJ: ''Hûn-lîm-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Yùn-lìm-yen'') is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County t ...
, and Tainan Counties.[ Common name farmland green treefrog has been coined for it.][
]
Description
''Zhangixalus arvalis'' is a medium-sized treefrog; adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The tympanum is visible, but it is dorsally and posteriorly concealed by the thin supratympanic fold. The fingers and the toes have well-developed discs and are webbed; webbing is weakly developed between the fingers but more prominent between the toes. Skin is granulated. The dorsum varies from dark green, green, yellowish-green, to nearly yellow. The upper lip is white, and the white color continues as a white stripe on the flanks; flank below the white stripe is dark purple. The lower lip and edge of gular region are silver gray to white.
Habitat and conservation
''Zhangixalus arvalis'' occurs in disturbed lowland (elevations below ) agricultural areas where traditional farming practices prevails; it inhabits bamboo forests, orchards, sugar-cane fields, scrubland, and cultivated fields.[ The development to ]metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...
takes about 40 days.[ It is 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 ...
caused by infrastructure development for industry and human settlement, and by agricultural pollution
Agricultural pollution refers to biotic and abiotic byproducts of farming practices that result in contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems, and/or cause injury to humans and their economic interests. The pol ...
. Conservation measures include maintaining traditional agricultural practices.[ as do 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 ...
.
See also
* Bambusa oldhamii
''Bambusa oldhamii'', known as giant timber bamboo or Oldham's bamboo, is a large species of bamboo. It is the most common and widely grown bamboo in the United States and has been introduced into cultivation around the world. It is densely foli ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q717815
arvalis
Amphibians of Taiwan
Endemic fauna of Taiwan
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Amphibians described in 1995