Hyla Laurenti, 1768

Duellman, William E., Marion, Angela B. & Hedges, Blair, 2016, Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the treefrogs (Amphibia: Anura: Arboranae), Zootaxa 4104 (1), pp. 1-109 : 22

Hyla Laurenti, 1768

Hyla Laurenti, 1768:32 . Type species: Hyla viridis Laurenti, 1768 (= Rana arborea Linnaeus, 1758 ) by subsequent designation ( Stejneger, 1907:75).

Definition. Moderate-sized, arboreal, primarily green frogs with expanded terminal discs on the digits ( Figs. 8A and B); no definitive morphological features are known to differentiate Hyla from Dryophytes.

Content. Sixteen species: Hyla annectans (Jerdon) , arborea (Linnaeus) , chinensis Günther , felixarabica Gvoždík, Kotlík & Moravec , hallowellii* Thompson, heinzsteinitzi * Grach, Plesser & Werner, intermedia Boulenger , meridionalis Boettger , molleri Bedriaga , orientalis Bedriaga , sanchiangensis* Pope, sarda (De Betta) , savignyi Audouin , simplex Boettger , tsinlingensis Liu & Hu , and zhaopingensis* Tang & Zhang.

Distribution. Eurasia south of the Baltic Sea eastward with a hiatus between eastern Russia and the Oriental Region from northeastern India to Vietnam, China, and Hainan Island; Sardinia and Corsica, extreme north Africa from Morocco to Tunisia; northeastern Egypt, Turkey, and southern Arabian Peninsula.

Etymology. The generic name is derived from Hylas , the companion of Hercules, in Greek mythology. The gender is feminine.

Remarks. In a tree based on parsimony analysis (Faivovich et al. 2005), three Eurasian species ( Hyla annectans , arborea , and savignyi ) were in a clade sister of a large clade containing the 11 North American species of Hyla , plus the Asian Hyla japonica . Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of a larger number of species ( Hua et al. 2009) resulted in the recognition of two strongly supported clades—one with nine Eurasian species and another with 13 North American species and three East Asian species— Hyla immaculata , japonica , and suweonensis . Our analysis shows strong support for two clades of Nearctic hylids. One of these is recognized herein as the genus Hyla , restricted to the Old World; the other, herein recognized as the genus Dryophytes, is primarily New World but with three species in Asia. These genera are separated geographically.

Figures

FIGURE 8. A. Hyla arborea, Tubingen, Baden Württenburg, Germany. B. Hyla sarda, KU 207373, 2.4 km ESE Musei (near Domusnovas), Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. C. Dryophytes versicolor, near Greenville, Darke County, Ohio, USA. D. Dryophytes gratiosus, KU 109911, Woodland, East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, USA. All by W. E. Duellman.