Rhacophoridae

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Rhacophoridae
Rhacophoridae diversity.jpg
Rhacophoridae diversity
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Clade: Ranoidea
Family: Rhacophoridae
Hoffman, 1932 (1858)
Subfamilies

Buergeriinae
Rhacophorinae

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".

Contents

Although a few groups are primarily terrestrial, rhacophorids are predominantly arboreal treefrogs. Mating frogs, while in amplexus, hold on to a branch, and beat their legs to form a foam. The eggs are laid in the foam and covered with seminal fluid before the foam hardens into a protective casing. In some species, this is done in a large group. The foam is laid above a water source so the tadpoles fall into the water once they hatch. [1]

The species within this family vary in size from 1.5 to 12 cm (0.59 to 4.72 in). [1] Like other arboreal frogs, they have toe discs, and those of the genus Chiromantis have two opposable fingers on each hand. This family also contains the Old World flying frogs, including Wallace's flying frog ( Rhacophorus nigropalmatus ). These frogs have extensive webbing between their fore and hind limbs, allowing them to glide through the air. [2]

Taxonomy

Evolution

The Rhacophoridae are the sister group to the Mantellidae, a family of frogs restricted to Madagascar. Both families are thought to have diverged during the Paleocene, although previous studies estimated a Cretaceous divergence. Two different hypotheses for this divergence have been proposed: one that the Mantellidae and Rhacophoridae diverged when Insular India broke from Madagascar, with the Rhacophoridae colonizing the rest of Asia following the collision of India with Asia, and the other proposing that the common ancestors of both families inhabited Asia, with the ancestral Mantellidae colonizing Madagascar from India via long-distance dispersal, using India as a stepping stone. [3] [4]

Amboli bush frog (Pseudophilautus amboli), a member of the Rhacophoridae, with enlarged vocal sac for mating calls Amboli Bush Frog with enlarged vocal sac for mating calls.jpg
Amboli bush frog ( Pseudophilautus amboli ), a member of the Rhacophoridae, with enlarged vocal sac for mating calls

Genera

Phylogeny

This phylogeny of the Rhacophoridae is from Yu et al. (2008): [6]

Rhacophoridae 
Buergeriinae  

Buergeria

Rhacophorinae  

Liuixalus

Nyctixalus

Theloderma

Philautus , Kurixalus

Gracixalus

Chiromantis

Feihyla

Polypedates

Rhacophorus

Parasites

As many frogs, rhacophorids harbour monogenean worms in their urinary bladders. The parasite species specialized to this family of frogs belong to the genus Indopolystoma, described in 2019. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">True frog</span> Family of frogs

True frogs is the common name for the frog family Ranidae. They have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are present in North America, northern South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Asian range extends across the East Indies to New Guinea and a single species, the Australian wood frog, has spread into the far north of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhacophorinae</span> Subfamily of amphibians

The Rhacophorinae are a subfamily of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. They range from tropical Africa and Asia to temperate China and Japan.

<i>Rhacophorus</i> Genus of amphibians

Rhacophorus is a genus of frogs in the shrub frog family (Rhacophoridae) and the related Hylidae make up the true tree frogs. They are found in India, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. Over 40 species are currently recognised.

<i>Polypedates</i> Genus of amphibians

Polypedates is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, the shrub frogs and Paleotropic tree frogs. They belong to subfamily Rhacophorinae. Members of this genus are collectively known as whipping frogs. They occur in eastern and southern Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malabar gliding frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Malabar gliding frog or Malabar flying frog is a rhacophorid tree frog species found in the Western Ghats of India.

<i>Buergeria</i> Genus of amphibians

Buergeria is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, and the sole genus of subfamily Buergeriinae. They are the sister taxon for all the other rhacophorids. The available firmly supports this position.

<i>Raorchestes flaviventris</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes flaviventris is a species of arboreal, nocturnal, frog of the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, South India. Its common name is yellow-bellied bush frog.

<i>Nasutixalus jerdonii</i> Species of amphibian

Nasutixalus jerdonii is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is found in the northeastern India, in the West Bengal, Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya states. It range might extend into the adjacent Nepal. The specific name jerdonii honours Thomas C. Jerdon, an English herpetologist. Common names Jerdon's bubble-nest frog, Jerdon's tree frog, and Jerdon's bush frog have been coined for this species.

<i>Raorchestes luteolus</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes luteolus is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India, where it is only known from the state of Karnataka. Many of the known populations are from the Kodagu district, known also by its anglicised former name of Coorg—hence the common name. It is also known from the Shimoga district in the Sharavathi basin where it was described as a new species, Philautus neelanethrus, but this is now considered to be a junior synonym of Raorchestes luteolus.

<i>Rhacophorus lateralis</i> Species of amphibian

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.

<i>Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus</i> Species of amphibian

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.

<i>Raorchestes resplendens</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes resplendens, the resplendent shrubfrog, is a critically endangered species of frog belonging to the family Rhacophoridae endemic to the high altitude region around the south Indian peak of Anaimudi. It has extremely short limbs and numerous macroglands and was discovered from the Anamudi summit in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India and is known only from the Eravikulam National Park.

<i>Vampyrius</i> Species of amphibian

Vampyrius vampyrus is a medium-sized species of flying frogs endemic to Vietnam. It is found in southern Vietnam, and is not known to be found in other places globally. It Is in the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, and class Amphibia. Along with this, it is in the order Anura, family Rhacophoridae, and it is the only member of the genus Vampyrus. It is also known as the vampire tree frog or the vampire flying frog because of the presence of a pair of fang-like hooks in the mouth of the tadpoles.

<i>Raorchestes</i> Genus of amphibians

Raorchestes is a genus of frogs in the subfamily Rhacophorinae that are found in mountainous regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and southern China. A recent study places Raorchestes as a sister taxon of Pseudophilautus. Before the description of the genus in 2010, species now in Raorchestes had been assigned to genera Ixalus, Philautus, and Pseudophilautus.

<i>Ghatixalus</i> Genus of amphibians

Ghatixalus is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, subfamily Rhacophorinae. They are endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. They are the sister taxon to a larger clade consisting of Chiromantis, Feihyla, Taruga, Polypedates, and Rhacophorus. The name of the genus combines words "Ghats" and "Ixalus". The former refers to the Western Ghats, and the latter to now-abandoned genus name that lives as the suffix in many generic names for rhacophorid frogs.

<i>Liuixalus</i> Genus of amphibians

Liuixalus is a small genus of rhacophorid frogs that are distributed in southern China. Some species now in Liuixalus were originally placed in Philautus. It is thought to be the most basal genus in the Rhacophorinae.

<i>Beddomixalus</i> Genus of amphibians

Beddomixalus is a monotypic genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. The only described species, Beddomixalus bijui, is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. Its name is derived from a combination of the cognomen of Richard Henry Beddome, in honour of his work on the amphibian diversity of the Western Ghats, as well as Ixalus, which is often used as a suffix for names of rhacophorid genera.

<i>Nasutixalus</i> Genus of Amphibia

Nasutixalus is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. The genus is found in northeastern India and adjacent southeastern Tibet as well as western Yunnan (China); the range might extend into the adjacent Nepal and Myanmar. Common name ridged-nose treefrogs has been coined for this genus.

Annemarie Ohler is an Austrian herpetologist and professor who concentrates on the taxonomy of amphibians. She has 3,602 citations and an h-index of 36.

References

  1. 1 2 Zweifel, Richard G. (1998). Cogger, H.G.; Zweifel, R.G. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 99–100. ISBN   0-12-178560-2.
  2. Sunny Shah & Rachna Tiwari (2001-11-29). "Rhacophorus nigropalmatus, Wallace's Flying Frog". AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 2007-06-22. Edited by Tate Tunstall (2003-04-12)
  3. Li, Jia-Tang; Li, Yang; Klaus, Sebastian; Rao, Ding-Qi; Hillis, David M.; Zhang, Ya-Ping (2013-02-26). "Diversification of rhacophorid frogs provides evidence for accelerated faunal exchange between India and Eurasia during the Oligocene". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (9): 3441–3446. doi:10.1073/pnas.1300881110. ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   3587228 . PMID   23401521.
  4. Feng, Yan-Jie; Blackburn, David C.; Liang, Dan; Hillis, David M.; Wake, David B.; Cannatella, David C.; Zhang, Peng (2017-07-18). "Phylogenomics reveals rapid, simultaneous diversification of three major clades of Gondwanan frogs at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114 (29). doi:10.1073/pnas.1704632114. ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   5530686 . PMID   28673970.
  5. Robin Kurian Abraham; R. Alexander Pyron; Ansil B. R.; Arun Zachariah; Anil Zachariah (2013). "Two novel genera and one new species of treefrog (Anura: Rhacophoridae) highlight cryptic diversity in the Western Ghats of India". Zootaxa. 3640 (2): 177–189. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3640.2.3. PMID   26000411.
  6. Yu Guohua, Rao Dingqi, Zhang Mingwang, Yang Junxing. Re-examination of the phylogeny of Rhacophoridae (Anura) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 50 (2009) 571–579. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.023
  7. Chaabane, Amira; Verneau, Olivier; Du Preez, Louis (2019). "Indopolystoma n. gen. (Monogenea, Polystomatidae) with the description of three new species and reassignment of eight known Polystoma species from Asian frogs (Anura, Rhacophoridae)". Parasite. 26: 67. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2019067 . ISSN   1776-1042. PMC   6865761 . PMID   31746733. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg