Rhacophorus
| Rhacophorus | |
|---|---|
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Malabar gliding frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) Note the elongated toes with prominent webbing. |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Subclass: | Lissamphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Suborder: | Neobatrachia |
| Family: | Rhacophoridae |
| Subfamily: | Rhacophorinae |
| Genus: |
Rhacophorus Kuhl & Hasselt, 1822 |
| Species | |
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About 80, see text |
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| Synonyms | |
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Leptomantis Peters, 1867 |
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About 80, see text
Leptomantis Peters, 1867
Rhacoforus Palacky, 1898 (lapsus)
Racophorus Schlegel, 1826 (lapsus)
Rhacophorus is a genus of frogs in the shrub frog family (Rhacophoridae) which together with the related Hylidae makes up the true tree frogs. They live in India, Japan, Madagascar, Africa, and Southeast Asia. "Amphibian Species of the World 5.6" lists 81 species.
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 known as 'parachuting'. They are therefore among the anurans commonly known as "flying frogs".
The present genus is closely related to Polypedates, 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.
These frogs lay their eggs in aerial foam nests; upon hatching, tadpoles drop to the water under the nest and complete their development there.
There are 82 species in the genus:
The following phylogeny of Rhacophorus is from Pyron & Wiens (2011). 24 species are included. Rhacophorus is a sister group of Polypedates.
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Wikipedia