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 Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

and Sumatra. It is named for the biologist, Alfred R. Wallace, who collected the first known specimen.

Taxonomy

'' R. 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.

Description

This frog is quite photogenic, due to its large size, brilliant colors, and interesting behavior. With a body length of about 80-100 mm (males are smaller than females), it is one of the largest species of ''

Rhacophorus ''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, Madagascar, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Over 40 species are currently recognised. T ...

''. 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 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 ...

can parachute to the forest floor from high in the trees where it is normally found. 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. Overall, this frog looks much like the

green flying frog ''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 ...

(''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. The species is known to fall prey to tree climbing snakes. The female creates a

bubble nest Bubble nests, also called foam nests, are created by some fish and frog species as floating masses of bubbles blown with an oral secretion, saliva bubbles, and occasionally aquatic plants. Fish that build and guard bubble nests are known as aph ...

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.Tunstall (2003)

Distribution and habitat

The frog is found throughout Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia, as well as on Sumatra in Indonesia and

( Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia). Its presence in Myanmar is uncertain. It is found at elevations at or above 600 m in primary evergreen forest, old shifting cultivation, and in vegetation near forest pools, where breeding takes place.

References

Sources

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