Mediterranean tree frog

The Mediterranean tree frog or stripeless tree frog (Hyla meridionalis) is a frog from Africa and Europe.  It lives in parts of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Portugal, Spain, France and Italy where there is plenty of water in the air.

Appearance

The adult male frog is 55 mm long from nose to rear end and the adult female frog is 65 mm long.  It has disks on its toes for climbing.  Its belly is white or almost white.  Its back is green, yellow or green-yellow.  It can change color.  It has two dark stripes, one on each side of its head.  The stripe starts at the nose and goes over the eye and ear to the shoulder.

 Reproductive biology 
The beginning and the duration of the reproductive period are very different. In southern France it extends from April to June, in Portugal from December to January (and later), in North Africa from March to April, in Tenerife from December to May. Sometimes she experiences an interruption due to bad weather. This is not uncommon for the Mediterranean tree frogs of the Camargue, France, when the mistral brings cold air from the Massif Central to the coast and causes a sudden fall in the weather there. Female frogs lay eggs on groups of plants near the edge of a body of water.  The tadpoles hatch after eight to ten days.  The very largest tadpoles grow to 5.5 cm long.  They become frogs after three or four months.  The frogs eat insects and insect-like animals, for example spiders.

References

Category:Frogs of Africa
Category:Frogs of Europe