Malayan Flying Frog

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Malayan Flying Frog
Conservation status
see text
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Amphibia
Subclass: Lissamphibia
Order: Anura
Suborder: Neobatrachia
Family: Rhacophoridae
Subfamily: Rhacophorinae
Genus: Rhacophorus
Species: R. prominanus
Binomial name
Rhacophorus prominanus
Smith, 1924
Synonyms

see text

The Malayan Flying Frog (Rhacophorus prominanus) is a species of frog in the moss frog family (Rhacophoridae). It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

This is a largish flying frog, with females growing to a body length of up to 7.6 cm (about 3 in), and males reaching up to 6.2 cm body length. Generally jade green overall and somewhat translucent when small, a prominent red blotch on the webbing extends between the third and fifth hind toes.

Tadpoles are greyish green and have no markings. Towards metamorphosis, they become greener. They lose their tail when they are about 30-33 mm long and freshly emergent juveniles measure about 15 mm. The labial tooth row formula (LTRF) is 5(2-5)/3 in small tadpoles and 6(2-6)/3 in older ones.[1]

Its natural habitats are subtropical and tropical moist montane forests above 600 meters ASL[1], where it inhabits rivers, intermittent rivers, and intermittent freshwater marshes. It is not considered threatened by the IUCN, which classify it as a Species of Least Concern.

However, the IUCN followed a recent study[2], according to which Rhacophorus tunkui was a junior synonym of R. prominanus. This assessment was later criticized for severe methodological flaws:

"... the justifications provided by Harvey et al. (2002) were insufficient and unconvincing, especially when type material of both R. prominanus and R. tunkui were not even examined."[1]

It appears as if R. tunkui is indeed a distinct lowland sister species of the Malayan Flying Frog, about two-thirds of the length of the latter, and differing in some coloration details. Its tadpoles have up to three prominent black spots on the tail base. While more research seems warranted, at present these frogs are better considered two species for the time being. It is not known how the range restriction of the Malayan Flying Frog to montane habitat would affect its conservation status; technically both taxa would more appropriately be considered as "data deficient".[1]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d Leong (2004)
  2. ^ Harvey et al. (2002)

[edit] References

  • Sukumaran, J.; van Dijk, P.P.; Chuaynkern, Y.; Iskandar, D.; Yaakob, N. & Tzi Ming, L. (2004). Rhacophorus prominanus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 23 July 2007.
  • Harvey, M.B.; Pemberton, A.J. & Smith, E.N. (2002): New and poorly known parachuting frogs (Rhacophoridae: Rhacophorus) from Sumatra and Java. Herpetological Monographs 16: 46-92. DOI:10.1655/0733-1347(2002)016[0046:NAPKPF]2.0.CO;2 HTML abstract
  • Leong, Tzi Ming (2004): Larval descriptions of some poorly known tadpoles from Peninsular Malaysia (Amphibia: Anura). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 52(2): 609-620. PDF fulltext


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