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Thursday, November 25, 2010

This frog likes some trees, but not the forest: The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) - WWF maxicard from Liechtenstein


Frogs, in general, are very sensible to pollution - birth defects will soon appear, with extra legs and various other deformities. They are a "barometer" of their environment. We should pay more attention at how we are destroying our planet, day after day.
We all should make more efforts to stop that destruction.
Or else.

"The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) is a small frog that can grow to a maximum length of 4.5 cm.

They are the only members of the widespread tree frog family (Hylidae)indigenous to Mainland Europe. Characteristic are the discs on the frog's toes which it uses to climb trees and hedges. There are three or four species and many subspecies:
  • Hyla arborea (Linnaeus, 1758) (common or European tree frog)
  • Hyla meridionalis Boettger, 1874 (Mediterranean tree frog or stripeless tree frog)
  • Hyla intermedia Boulenger, 1882 (Italian tree frog) (not always considered a species)
  • Hyla sarda (De Betta, 1853) (Sardinian tree frog)
The European tree frogs actually don't live in forests, but rather prefer sunny forest edges, bushy heaths, wet dune pans, wet scrubland and extensively used meadows and parks with ponds rich in submerged vegetation without fish nearby. These habitats are increasingly influenced by human activity. Hyla arborea, the common tree frog, is endangered in western Europe (nearly extinct in Belgium) while the more common Mediterranean tree frog lives in wet gardens, treegarths, vineyards, campings, and near pine trees."


1 comment:

  1. A most intriguing post! I did not realise that all frogs are a barometer of our environment! Does that include toads or strictly frogs? Our cane toads in Australia are multiplying at an alarming rate!

    ReplyDelete

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