Wallace's flying frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus), 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.[2]
This frog is quite photogenic, due to its large size, brilliant colors, and interesting behavior.[3] With a body length of about 80–100 mm (males are smaller than females), it is one of the largest species of Rhacophorus. Its eardrums are large, as well as its eyes, which feature horizontal pupils. Its limbs are very long, and its fingers and toes are webbed right to the tips. Together with a fringe of skin stretching between the limbs, this flying frog can parachute to the forest floor from high in the trees where it is normally found.[4]
Its back is bright shiny green and the underside is white to pale yellow. The upper sides of the inside toes, as well as the outer parts of the toe and finger webbing, are brilliant yellow. The base of the webs and one flank spot per side are jet black.[4] Overall, this frog looks much like the green flying frog (R. reinwardtii) and R. kio, which even if full grown do not reach the size of Wallace's flying frog, though, and have more orange web fringes.
They live almost exclusively in the trees, and leaps and "flies" from tree to tree or to bushes. When threatened or in search of prey, they will leap from a branch and splay their four webbed feet. The membranes between their toes and loose skin flaps on their sides catch the air as they fall, helping them to glide, sometimes 50 feet (15 meters) or more, to a neighboring tree branch or even all the way to the ground. They also have oversized toe pads to help them land softly and stick to tree trunks. They survive mainly on insects, but have been known to consume toads and small birds.[5] The species is known to fall prey to tree climbing snakes.[6]
The female creates a bubble nest by lashing fluids she produces, on a branch or on foliage above water. She lays her eggs in the nest and the male fertilises them. When they hatch, the tadpoles develop in the nest until it breaks up and they fall into the water below. Here they continue their development, and undergo metamorphosis into juvenile frogs.[7] Young frogs are red with white spots for around a year before maturing into green adults, which is thought to ward off predation by mimicking feces. [8]
Distribution and habitatedit
The frog is found throughout Thailand, Myanmar and Peninsular Malaysia, as well as on Sumatra in Indonesia and Borneo (Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia).[9] This frog lives in trees, palm trees, bushes, and similar plants. It has been found both in primary forest and in areas that had been subject to logging, ranging in elevation between 700 and 1800 feet above sea level.[10]
^ abIUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Abah River Flying Frog: Rhacophorus nigropalmatus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 3.1: e.T59008A64129329. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T59008A64129329.en. 59008. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
^. The Alfred Russel Wallace Website. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
^Young frogs camouflage themselves as poo, according to new study BBC
^Frost, Darrel R. "Rohanixalus nigropalmatus Boulenger, 1895". Amphibian Species of the World, an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
^Sunny Shah; Rachna Tiwari (November 29, 2001). Tate Tunstall; Michelle S. Koo (eds.). "Rhacophorus nigropalmatus Boulenger, 1895". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
Sourcesedit
Bordoloi, Sabitry; Bortamuli, Tutul; Ohler, Annemarie (2007). "Systematics of the genus Rhacophorus (Amphibia, Anura): identity of red-webbed forms and description of a new species from Assam" (PDF). Zootaxa (1653): 1–20. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1653.1.1.
Sukumaran, Jeet (2005). "Encounter with Wallace's Flying Frog, The Frog of the Monsoons".
Wikispecies has information related to Rhacophorus nigropalmatus.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhacophorus nigropalmatus.
Amphibians and Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia – Rhacophorus nigropalmatus
Gliding Leaf Frogs – Planet Earth – BBC Earth
February 09, 2024
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This article uses citations that link to broken or outdated sources Please improve the article by addressing link rot or discuss this issue on the talk page January 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Wallace s flying frog Rhacophorus nigropalmatus 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 2 Wallace s flying frogConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AmphibiaOrder AnuraFamily RhacophoridaeGenus RhacophorusSpecies R nigropalmatusBinomial nameRhacophorus nigropalmatusBoulenger 1895 Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Description 3 Distribution and habitat 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksTaxonomy editR dennysii R maximus and Polypedates feae were once contained within Wallace s flying frog as subspecies Similar frogs also occur in Laos Vietnam Malaysia Thailand and southern China these may be R nigropalmatus or an undescribed closely related species 1 Description edit nbsp Illustration from Wallace s 1869 The Malay Archipelago by J G Keulemans nbsp A Wallace s flying frog in its natural habitatThis frog is quite photogenic due to its large size brilliant colors and interesting behavior 3 With a body length of about 80 100 mm males are smaller than females it is one of the largest species of Rhacophorus Its eardrums are large as well as its eyes which feature horizontal pupils Its limbs are very long and its fingers and toes are webbed right to the tips Together with a fringe of skin stretching between the limbs this flying frog can parachute to the forest floor from high in the trees where it is normally found 4 Its back is bright shiny green and the underside is white to pale yellow The upper sides of the inside toes as well as the outer parts of the toe and finger webbing are brilliant yellow The base of the webs and one flank spot per side are jet black 4 Overall this frog looks much like the green flying frog R reinwardtii and R kio which even if full grown do not reach the size of Wallace s flying frog though and have more orange web fringes They live almost exclusively in the trees and leaps and flies from tree to tree or to bushes When threatened or in search of prey they will leap from a branch and splay their four webbed feet The membranes between their toes and loose skin flaps on their sides catch the air as they fall helping them to glide sometimes 50 feet 15 meters or more to a neighboring tree branch or even all the way to the ground They also have oversized toe pads to help them land softly and stick to tree trunks They survive mainly on insects but have been known to consume toads and small birds 5 The species is known to fall prey to tree climbing snakes 6 The female creates a bubble nest by lashing fluids she produces on a branch or on foliage above water She lays her eggs in the nest and the male fertilises them When they hatch the tadpoles develop in the nest until it breaks up and they fall into the water below Here they continue their development and undergo metamorphosis into juvenile frogs 7 Young frogs are red with white spots for around a year before maturing into green adults which is thought to ward off predation by mimicking feces 8 Distribution and habitat editThe frog is found throughout Thailand Myanmar and Peninsular Malaysia as well as on Sumatra in Indonesia and Borneo Brunei Malaysia and Indonesia 9 This frog lives in trees palm trees bushes and similar plants It has been found both in primary forest and in areas that had been subject to logging ranging in elevation between 700 and 1800 feet above sea level 10 See also editFlying frog nbsp Frogs portalReferences edit a b IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group 2022 Abah River Flying Frog Rhacophorus nigropalmatus The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 3 1 e T59008A64129329 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2022 2 RLTS T59008A64129329 en 59008 Retrieved July 1 2023 Wallace s Flying Frog Rhacophorus nigropalmatus The Alfred Russel Wallace Website Archived from the original on July 28 2018 Retrieved 30 September 2021 Sukumaran 2005 a b Tunstall 2003 Bordoloi et al 2007 Wallace s Flying Frog National Geographic Animals September 10 2010 Archived from the original on May 28 2017 Wallace s Flying Frog Rhacophorus nigropalmatus www ecologyasia com Tunstall 2003 Young frogs camouflage themselves as poo according to new study BBC Frost Darrel R Rohanixalus nigropalmatus Boulenger 1895 Amphibian Species of the World an Online Reference Version 6 0 American Museum of Natural History New York Retrieved July 1 2023 Sunny Shah Rachna Tiwari November 29 2001 Tate Tunstall Michelle S Koo eds Rhacophorus nigropalmatus Boulenger 1895 AmphibiaWeb University of California Berkeley Retrieved July 1 2023 Sources editBordoloi Sabitry Bortamuli Tutul Ohler Annemarie 2007 Systematics of the genus Rhacophorus Amphibia Anura identity of red webbed forms and description of a new species from Assam PDF Zootaxa 1653 1 20 doi 10 11646 zootaxa 1653 1 1 Sukumaran Jeet 2005 Encounter with Wallace s Flying Frog The Frog of the Monsoons Tunstall Tate ed 2003 Rhacophorus nigropalmatus Wallace s Flying Frog AmphibiaWeb Retrieved 22 June 2007 External links edit nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Rhacophorus nigropalmatus nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhacophorus nigropalmatus Amphibians and Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia Rhacophorus nigropalmatus Gliding Leaf Frogs Planet Earth BBC Earth Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wallace 27s flying frog amp oldid 1189766087, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
