| Malabar gliding frog | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Rhacophoridae |
| Genus: | Rhacophorus |
| Species: | R. malabaricus |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhacophorus malabaricus Jerdon, 1870 | |
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The Malabar gliding frog or Malabar flying frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) is a rhacophorid tree frog species found in the Western Ghats of India.
The term "gliding" frog refers to its ability to break its fall by stretching the webbing between its toes when making leaps down from the treetops. It can make gliding jumps of 9–12 m, a maximum of about 115 times its length.
This frog has a body length of about 10 cm (4 in), making it one of the largest moss frogs. Males are smaller than females. Its back skin is finely granulated and the color is vivid green without markings, distinguishing it from the otherwise quite similar R. pseudomalabaricus , which has a black-marbled back and was long included in the present species. [1] In preserved specimens, the back turns purplish blue. The belly is more coarsely granulated – particularly under the thighs – and pale yellow. There are skin fringes between and along the long limbs, and a triangular skin extension at the heel. The webbing between fingers and toes is large and orange-red. [2]
The vomerine teeth are arranged in two straight or slightly oblique series touching the inner front edge of the choanae. The snout is rounded but not very wide, about as long as the diameter of the orbit, the canthus rostralis is bluntly-angled, and the loral region is concave. The nostrils are located nearer to the end of the snout than to the eyes. The interorbital space is broader than the upper eyelid. The tympanum measures about 60–70% of the diameter of the eye. [3]
The disks of fingers and toes are large, about the size of the tympanum; the subarticular tubercles are well-developed, also. The tibio-tarsal articulation reaches at least to the eye, at most top the nostril. [3]
The Malabar gliding frog is found in the Western Ghats of India and has been described in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra. It has been recorded at altitudes ranging from 43m to 1894m above sea level. It is found in various habitats such as primary forests, secondary forests, plantations, and urban habitats. It can be found on leaves of trees near stream or river banks. During the breeding season, they move to trees hanging above water bodies into which their tadpoles drop. [4]
Reproduction in this species typically occurs during the monsoon months of June-September. Males of this species sit by the banks of streams and emit calls to attract females. Females will often approach the focal male, the individual who will mate, and signal him to initiate amplexus. The males whip up the foam in which the females deposit the eggs. Peripheral males have been observed helping build the nests for the female and focal male pairs. After spawning, males will typically leave the female and the clutch and the female will cover the clutch in leaf litter. Nests are typically 78-112mm in length and 68-79mm in width. Number of eggs per clutch varied from 89-206 (N = 5) and individual eggs measured between 2.0-3.2 mm (2.8 ± 0.5 mm, N = 89, single egg clutch). The eggs are unpigmented and off-white in color. The tadpoles drop into the water after hatching. [4]
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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 known as shrub frogs, or more ambiguously as "moss frogs" or "bush frogs". Some Rhacophoridae are called "tree frogs". Among the most spectacular members of this family are numerous "flying frogs".
The bicolored frog or Malabar frog is a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats of India. The tadpoles of the species are black and form dense and compact schools in slow moving streams in forested areas.
The fungoid frog or Malabar Hills frog is a colourful frog found on the forest floor and lower vegetation in the Western Ghats in south-western India from Bombay to Kerala. It is very similar to another species with which it overlaps partly in range, Hydrophylax bahuvistara which extends further into parts of central India. Although restricted in range within peninsular India, they are of least conservation concern. Their upper parts vary in colour from brownish-red to bright crimson.
Rhacophorus is a genus of frogs in the shrub-frog family Rhacophoridae, which, with the related Hylidae, is one of the two genera of true tree frogs. They are found in China, India, Japan, and throughout Southeast Asia, including the island of Borneo. Over 40 species are currently recognised.
Nyctibatrachus is a genus of frogs endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Their common name is night frogs. Their scientific name also means "night frog", in reference to their habits and dark color. They are the only extant members of the monotypic subfamily Nyctibatrachinae. Currently, 35 species belong to Nyctibatrachus.
Indirana semipalmata is a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats region of southern India. They are small frogs, reaching lengths of about 36 mm (1.4 in) from snout to vent. The species breeds during the monsoons, laying their eggs on moist rocks and tree bark. Their tadpoles are terrestrial – hatching, feeding, and undergoing metamorphosis without ever entering any standing bodies of water.
Indirana leithii is a species of frog in the family Ranixalidae. It is endemic to the northern Western Ghats of India. As currently defined, its range is restricted to the states of Maharashtra and southern Gujarat; earlier records elsewhere refer to other species.
Indosylvirana aurantiaca, commonly known as the golden frog, is a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats of India. The species is also known as the Trivandrum frog, the common wood frog, or the small wood frog.
Wallace's flying frog, also known as the gliding frog or the Abah River flying frog, is a moss frog found at least from the Malay Peninsula into western Indonesia, and is present in Borneo and Sumatra. It is named for the biologist, Alfred R. Wallace, who collected the first known specimen.
Petropedetes palmipes is a species of frog in the family Petropedetidae. It is known from a few localities in southwestern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and western Gabon. Common name Efulen water frog has been coined for it.
Nyctibatrachus major, the Malabar night frog, large wrinkled frog, or Boulenger's narrow-eyed frog is a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae, commonly known as the robust frogs. It was described in 1882 by the zoologist George Albert Boulenger, and is the type species of the genus Nyctibatrachus. It is a large frog for its genus, with an adult snout–vent length of 31.5–52.0 mm (1.24–2.05 in) for males and 43.7–54.2 mm (1.72–2.13 in) for females. It is mainly brownish to greyish in colour, with a dark greyish-brown upperside, a greyish-white underside, and light grey sides. It also has a variety of grey or brown markings. When preserved in ethanol, it is mostly greyish-brown to grey, with whitish sides. Sexes can be told apart by the presence of the femoral glands in males.
Rhacophorus bipunctatus is a frog species in the moss frog family (Rhacophoridae) found from eastern India into Southeast Asia, possibly to southeastern China and south to Malaysia. Due to the identification problems surrounding this species, the eastern and southern limits of its range remain undetermined; all that is known is that the species certainly occurs in the border region of India, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar; its range might extend south to Malaysia, as similar frogs have been reported from Pahang.
Rhacophorus calcadensis, also known as the Kalakad gliding frog, Kalakkad tree frog, and Langbian flying frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the southern Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states, India. Its name refers to its type locality, the town of Kalakkad in Tamil Nadu.
Rhacophorus lateralis is a rhacophorid tree frog endemic to the Western Ghats in South India. It has several common names: small tree frog, Boulenger's tree frog, small gliding frog, and winged gliding frog. After its original description in 1883 by George Albert Boulenger, the frog was rediscovered in Coorg in 2000 and has since been found in many parts of the Western Ghats around southern Karnataka and northern Kerala. Along with R. malabaricus, it is one of the few anuran amphibians in India that constructs its nest above the ground using leaves.
Rhacophorus poecilonotus, also known as the Sumatra flying frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to Sumatra, Indonesia.
Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus, also known as Anaimalai flying frog, false Malabar gliding frog, and false Malabar tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Anaimalai Hills, a part of the southern the Western Ghats in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala states, India.
The spinular night frog, also known as the spinular wrinkled frog, is a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae, commonly known as the robust frogs. It was described in 2011 as one of 12 new species in its genus by the herpetologist Sathyabhama Das Biju and his colleagues. A large frog for its genus, it has an adult male snout–vent length of 52.9–66.2 mm (2.08–2.61 in). It has a brownish-grey back, a grey underside, dark brown limbs, and dark grey feet. When preserved in ethanol, it is black above with greyish-brown undersides. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, where it is known from the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where the specimens used to describe the species were originally collected. It is found under rocks in streams in forests. The species has not been assigned a conservation status by the IUCN.
The Jog night frog or Jog's night frog is one of 34 species of nocturnal frogs in the genus Nyctibatrachus. It is found exclusively in the Western Ghats, India, and both sexes share the responsibility of watching over the eggs.
Rhacophorus kio is a species of flying frog in the family Rhacophoridae and is found in the rainforests of southeast Asia, in countries such as China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its ability to glide and its adhesive toe pads make it well adapted to its habitat of the rainforest. Prior to a 2006 study by Annemarie Ohler and Magali Delorme, R. kio and R. reinwardtii were thought to be the same species. The common name black-webbed treefrog can refer to either species. Compared to other frog species in the area, R. kio not only creates a foam nest that holds their eggs, but also creates a structure with leaves that will wrap around the eggs. While the conservation status of the species is currently classified as of least concern by the IUCN Red List, R. kio faces habitat loss from deforestation to make space for agriculture and other human influences.
