''Rhacophorus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

s in the shrub frog

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

(

Rhacophoridae 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 ...

) and the related

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and s ...

make up the true tree frogs. They are found in India, Japan, Madagascar, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Over 40 species are currently recognised. These frogs have long toes with strong webbing between them, enabling the animals to slow their fall to a glide, a form of

arboreal locomotion Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose num ...

known as parachuting. They are, therefore, among the anurans commonly known as "

flying frog A flying frog (also called a gliding frog) is a frog that has the ability to achieve gliding flight. This means it can descend at an angle less than 45° relative to the horizontal. Other nonflying arboreal frogs can also descend, but only at angle ...

s". The present genus is closely related to ''

Polypedates ''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 sout ...

'', which in former times was often included in ''Rhacophorus''. Even today, it is not fully resolved in which of these genera '' "P." feae'' and the Chinese flying frog (''"R." dennysi'') properly belong, and the supposedly new species ''"P. pingbianensis"'' has turned out to be the same as '' R. duboisi''. Rhacophorus arboreus Eggｓ in Mount Ryu 2011-09-29

Rhacophorus arboreus Eggｓ in Mount Ryu 2011-09-29

Reproduction

These frogs lay their eggs in aerial foam nests; upon hatching,

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s drop to the water under the nest and complete their development there.Some species like

Rhacophorus kio ''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 a ...

will wrap this and cover this foam nest with leaves.

Species

These species are recognised in the genus ''Rhacophorus'': * '' Rhacophorus annamensis'' Smith, 1924 – Annam flying frog * '' Rhacophorus baluensis'' Inger, 1954 * '' Rhacophorus barisani'' Harvey, Pemberton, and Smith, 2002 * ''

Rhacophorus bengkuluensis ''Rhacophorus'' is a genus of frogs in the shrub frog family (biology), family (Rhacophoridae) and the related Hylidae make up the true tree frogs. They are found in India, Japan, Madagascar, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Over 40 species are curren ...

'' Streicher, Hamidy, Harvey, Anders, Shaney, Kurniawan, and Smith, 2014 * '' Rhacophorus bifasciatus'' Van Kampen, 1923 * ''

Rhacophorus bipunctatus :''In sources published from 1999 onwards, the name ''Rhacophorus bipunctatus'' can also refer to '' R. rhodopus'' (see "Taxonomy" section).'' ''Rhacophorus bipunctatus'' is a frog species in the moss frog family (Rhacophoridae) found from eastern ...

'' Ahl, 1927 (including ''R. htunwini'') * '' Rhacophorus borneensis'' Matsui, Shimada, and Sudin, 2013 * ''

Rhacophorus calcadensis ''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 Endemism, endemic to the southern Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states, ...

'' Ahl, 1927 –

Kalakad gliding frog ''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. I ...

* ''

Rhacophorus calcaneus ''Rhacophorus calcaneus'' (vernacular name: Vietnam flying frog) is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to Vietnam. It has been extensively confused with ''Rhacophorus robertingeri'', making it difficult to know its true ...

'' Smith, 1924 * '' Rhacophorus catamitus'' Harvey, Pemberton, and Smith, 2002 * '' Rhacophorus edentulus'' Müller, 1894 * '' Rhacophorus exechopygus'' Inger, Orlov, and Darevsky, 1999 * ''

Rhacophorus georgii ''Rhacophorus georgii'' (common name: Tuwa flying frog) is a species of flying frog in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its type locality ("Tuwa, Paluthal, West-Central Celebes") cannot be located, but it has recently bee ...

'' Roux, 1904 * '' Rhacophorus helenae'' Rowley, Tran, Hoang & Le, 2012 – Helen's tree frog * ''

Rhacophorus hoabinhensis ''Rhacophorus hoabinhensis'', the Hoa Binh tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to Vietnam. Scientists know it exclusively from the type locality (biology), type locality: Hang Kia–Pa Co Nature Reserve, 1 ...

'' Nguyen, Pham, Nguyen, Ninh, and Ziegler, 2017 * ''

Rhacophorus hoanglienensis ''Rhacophorus hoanglienensis'', also known as the Honglien Frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae found in Vietnam and possibly China. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habit ...

'' Orlov, Lathrop, Murphy, and Ho, 2001 * '' Rhacophorus indonesiensis'' Hamidy & Kurniati, 2015 * ''

'' Ohler & Delorme, 2005 – black-webbed treefrog * ''

Rhacophorus laoshan ''Rhacophorus laoshan'', the Laoshan tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs that occur in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to east ...

'' Mo, Jiang, Xie, and Ohler, 2008 * '' Rhacophorus larissae'' Ostroshabov, Orlov, and Nguyen, 2013 * '' Rhacophorus lateralis'' Boulenger, 1883 * ''

Rhacophorus malabaricus The Malabar gliding frog or Malabar flying frog (''Rhacophorus malabaricus'') is a rhacophorid tree frog species found in the Western Ghats of India. Pictures The term "gliding" frog refers to its ability to break its fall by stretching ...

'' Jerdon, 1870 –

Malabar gliding frog The Malabar gliding frog or Malabar flying frog (''Rhacophorus malabaricus'') is a rhacophorid tree frog species found in the Western Ghats of India. Pictures The term "gliding" frog refers to its ability to break its fall by stretching ...

* '' Rhacophorus margaritifer'' (Schlegel, 1837) * '' Rhacophorus marmoridorsum'' Orlov, 2008 * ''

Rhacophorus modestus ''Rhacophorus modestus'' is a species of frog in the family (biology), family Rhacophoridae Endemism, endemic to Sumatra, Indonesia. Its common name is Boulenger's flying frog. It is only known from the type series collected from a montane forest ...

'' Boulenger, 1920 * '' Rhacophorus monticola'' Boulenger, 1896 * ''

Rhacophorus nigropalmatus 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 nam ...

'' Boulenger, 1895 –

Wallace's flying frog 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 ...

* '' Rhacophorus norhayatii'' Chan and Grismer, 2010 * '' Rhacophorus orlovi'' Ziegler and Köhler, 2001 * ''

Rhacophorus pardalis The harlequin tree frog (''Rhacophorus pardalis'') is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtro ...

'' Günther, 1858 – harlequin tree frog * '' Rhacophorus poecilonotus'' Boulenger, 1920 * ''

Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus ''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 ...

'' Vasudevan and Dutta, 2000 * ''

Rhacophorus reinwardtii ''Rhacophorus reinwardtii'' is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is variously known under the common names of black-webbed treefrog, green flying frog, Reinwardt's flying frog, or Reinwardt's treefrog. Before 2006, Rhacophorus re ...

'' (Schlegel, 1840) – black-webbed tree frog, green flying frog, Reinwardt's tree frog * ''

Rhacophorus rhodopus ''Rhacophorus rhodopus'' is a species of frog in the moss frog family (biology), family (Rhacophoridae). It occurs in south-eastern Asia, from India to southern China, and south to Malaysia. Previously unknown from Laos, it has now been found in ...

'' Liu and Hu, 1960 (including ''R. namdaphaensis'', often included in ''R. bipunctatus'') * '' Rhacophorus robertingeri'' Orlov, Poyarkov, Vassilieva, Ananjeva, Nguyen, Sang, and Geissler, 2012 * '' Rhacophorus spelaeus'' Orlov, Gnophanxay, Phimminith, and Phomphoumy, 2010 * '' Rhacophorus subansiriensis'' Mathew and Sen, 2009 * '' Rhacophorus translineatus'' Wu, 1977 * '' Rhacophorus tuberculatus'' (Anderson, 1871) * '' Rhacophorus turpes'' Smith, 1940 * '' Rhacophorus vampyrus'' Rowley, Le, Thi, Stuart, and Hoang, 2010 – vampire tree frog * '' Rhacophorus vanbanicus'' Kropachev, Orlov, Ninh, and Nguyen, 2019 * ''

Rhacophorus verrucopus ''Rhacophorus verrucopus'' is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae, which is found in China and possibly India. Rhacophorus Verrucopus has also been recorded in Myanmar from a field study in 2019. Its natural habitats are subtropical or ...

'' Huang, 1983 * ''

Rhacophorus viridimaculatus ''Rhacophorus viridimaculatus'', the green-spotted tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to Vietnam in Ha Giang Province and Tuyen Quang Province and suspected in China's Guangxi Province. It has been observe ...

'' Ostroshabov, Orlov, and Nguyen, 2013

Phylogeny

The following is a partial phylogeny of ''Rhacophorus'' from Pyron & Wiens (2011). Only nine species are included. ''Rhacophorus'' is a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

of ''

''.

References

External links

Amphibian and Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia - Family Rhacophoridae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q943540 Amphibians of Asia Amphibian genera Taxa named by Heinrich Kuhl Taxa named by Johan Conrad van Hasselt