Tree frogs (family)

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Tree frogs iw S.
European tree frog (Hyla arborea)

European tree frog ( Hyla arborea )

Systematics
Row : Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
without rank: Amphibians (Lissamphibia)
Order : Frog (anura)
Subordination : Neobatrachia
without rank: Tree frogs (arboranae)
Family : Tree frogs iw S.
Scientific name
Hylidae
Rafinesque , 1815
Tree frog in a tree

The family of the tree frogs (Hylidae) consists mainly of climbing frogs (Anura), whose species are distributed worldwide. They achieve the greatest diversity in the New World . About 720 species are currently known, making it one of the most species-rich families in the amphibian class .

Characteristics, behavior

There is a great abundance of forms; It is not easy to name common characteristics (for bone structure compare: Neobatrachia ). Tree frogs in the broader sense usually have smooth skin, quite long jump legs and live mainly on bushes, trees and other plants. Thanks to their characteristic adhesive discs on the finger and toe ends, they can climb very well. This behavior is also supported by an intermediate cartilage in front of the end members of the fingers, which enables them to grasp movements.

For spawning , most species seek out small ponds or other pools of water at night and often deposit very small lumps of eggs in the water; But there are also different forms of spawning on leaves (compare, for example, maci frogs , red- eyed tree frogs ) and brood care. Often the males have a large fillet constant vocal sac produce with which it loud mating calls. In the amplexus, they cling the females immediately behind the front legs.

distribution

Worldwide distribution of the family Hylidae

A particularly large number of representatives of this family inhabit the tropical rainforests of the world, especially in Latin America . Specifically, tree frogs occur in North and South America, on the Caribbean islands, in Australia and New Guinea, with a few species in the temperate zones of Eurasia (from Europe to the Japanese archipelago) and with only one species, the Mediterranean tree frog , on the northwestern edge of Africa . (In most of Africa there is no family; instead, the row frogs and reed frogs , which look very similar, are found here .) On Pacific islands such as New Caledonia , Vanuatu , Guam and New Zealand , individual tree frog species were introduced by humans.

Taxonomy

European tree frog ( Hyla arborea ), young animal
Cuban tree frog ( Osteopilus septentrionalis )
Japanese tree frog ( Dryophytes japonica )

The systematic composition of the tree frog family is controversial. Depending on whether molecular biological or morphological comparison features are in the foreground, different authors suggest strongly deviating overviews. The most comprehensive revision of the last few years resulted in an abundance of rearrangements and new names. Among other things, the previous subfamily Hemiphractinae has been completely spun off and is now treated as a separate family Hemiphractidae , as well as the two former subfamilies Griffin frogs (Phyllomedusinae) and Australian tree frogs (Pelodryadinae) were raised to family status in 2016 . The two new families Phyllomedusidae and Pelodryadidae were combined with the remaining tree frogs in the original family (former subfamily Hylinae ) to form the group of Arboranae . Furthermore, many new genera were established and species within the genera were reassigned. So in the formerly most extensive genus Hyla , which was the only Central European member of the family, the European tree frog , only 17 species remained. The overview presented here also does not represent a conclusive “finished” system of the Hylidae family.

(Processing status: 2019)

incertae sedis

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ American Museum of Natural History (AMNH): Amphibian Species of the World - Hylidae - Distribution
  2. ↑ J. Faivovich, CFB Haddad, PCA Garcia, DR Frost, JA Campbell & WC Wheeler: Systematic Review of the Frog Family Hylidae, with special Reference to Hylinae: Phylogenetic Analysis and Taxonomic Revision. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 294: 240 p., New York 2005 ( PDF online version )
  3. ^ William E. Duellman, Angela B. Marion & S. Blair Hedges: Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the treefrogs (Amphibia: Anura: Arboranae). Zootaxa 4104, 1, pp. 1–109, April 2016.
  4. ↑ This is based on: Amphibiaweb.org including the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH): Amphibian Species of the World - Hylidae
  5. ↑ This genre is taken by other authors as a synonym of pseudis ; see: American Museum of Natural History (AMNH): Amphibian Species of the World - Lysapsus
  6. ↑ Species of this genus are assigned to the genus Pseudis by other authors ; see: American Museum of Natural History (AMNH): Amphibian Species of the World - Podonectes
  7. ↑ This genus is assigned to a separate family Pseudidae by other authors

Web links

Commons : Tree Frogs (Family)  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files