Rhacophoridae

Polypedates maculatus

Rowing frogs ( Rhacophoridae ) constitute a family of amphibians. It is tree frog -looking, small to medium sized anurans that occur in tropical Africa and in South-East and East Asia. In English, they are also referred to as " Old World tree frogs " - as opposed to the mainly popular in America family of tree frogs ( Hylidae ). However, they are the genuine kinship frogs ( Ranidae ) in more detail.

Features

Rowing frogs live in trees and have this as a climbing aid broadened adhesive discs on the finger and toe ends. How the Real frogs, they have diplasiocoel shaped vertebra, some also procoele (front indented ). Analogously to the foliage, they have frogs between the last but one and last finger and toe member includes a cartilage intermediate, which allows in every position of the limbs, to press the adhesive onto the support disks. Most species have large eyes with horizontal pupils, and green, brown, gray or black and white back color. And their inner thighs have often garish colors which are to confuse predators, when the frogs jump away, while the colors are visible.

Best known are diverse as the " Flying frogs " designated representative of the genus Actual rudder frogs ( Rhacophorus ) that can fly several meters gliding through the air with their oversized, dark or colorful skins tension between the fingers and toes.

Reproduction

To produce the female reproductive rowing frogs before oviposition, a liquid that they suggest using their hind legs to a foam mass ( in some species the males act when whipping with ). Add this to leaves or twigs hung from above waters bubble nest, the female lays the eggs that are fertilized by the male while. Later, in most species the tadpoles drop it into the water after rain or secretions of the larvae liquefy the foam. Its larval development with the metamorphosis of the land animal they complete then in the water. The Ceylonese rowing frog ( Pseudophilautus microtympanum ) stores a little yolk- rich eggs on tree bark, where they are guarded by the female, hatch to finished young frogs.

Occurrence

The Rhacophoridae family is in sub-Saharan Africa and in eastern Asia from the Indian subcontinent (including Sri Lanka ) through Southeast Asia to the Indonesian archipelago (excluding New Guinea) to the Philippines, spread to Taiwan and Japan. Mainly tropical rain forests are inhabited; Species of the genus Chiromantis but are also adapted to life in arid savannas.

The colorful, schwarzfüßige flight Frog Style Rhacophorus nigropalmatus is worshiped religiously in some parts of Malaysia.

Taxonomy

In previous classifications, some African species of frogs Ried ( Hyperoliidae ) nor were attributed to the rudder frogs. Other authors included the rudder frogs as a subfamily of the Real frogs ( Ranidae ) or to the reed frogs. Today most two subfamilies within the family Rhacophoridae be separated, with Buergeriinae of only one genus ( Buergeria ) consists of five species, while the subfamily Rhacophorinae comprises around 350 species. Individual species, inter alia, in up to 50 kinds largest genus Philautus, are already extinct.

Notes: The genus Chirixalus Boulenger, 1893 has now been completely resolved, depending on systematic overview and is synonymous to Chiromantis or only consists of one type ( Chirixalus senapatiensis ), the other species were added to other genera. The genus Dendrobatorana with the only kind Dendrobatorana dorsalis is usually labeled as incertae sedis, so systematically unclear taxon.

Subfamily Buergeriinae Channing, 1989

  • Genus Buergeria Tschudi, 1838

Subfamily Rhacophorinae Hoffman, 1932

  • Genus Beddomixalus Abraham et al., 2013
  • Genus Chiromantis Peters, 1854
  • Genus Feihyla Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green & Wheeler, 2006
  • Genus Ghatixalus Biju, Roelants & Bossuyt, 2008
  • Genus Gracixalus Delorme, Dubois, Grosjean & Ohler, 2005
  • Genus Kurixalus Ye, Fei, & Dubois in Fei, 1999
  • Genus Liuixalus Li, Che, Bain, Zhao & Zhang, 2008
  • Genus Mercurana Abraham et al., 2013
  • Genus Nyctixalus Boulenger, 1882
  • Genus Philautus Gistel, 1848
  • Genus Polypedates Tschudi, 1838
  • Genus Pseudophilautus Laurent, 1943
  • Genus Raorchestes Biju, Shouche, Dubois, Dutta & Bossuyt, 2010
  • Genus Rhacophorus Kuhl & Hasselt, 1822 - Actual rudder frogs
  • Genus Taruga Meegaskumbura, Meegaskumbura, Bowatte, Manamendra - Arachchi, Pethiyagoda, Hanken & Schneider, 2010
  • Genus Theloderma Tschudi, 1838

Incertae sedis: Genus Dendrobatorana Ahl, 1927

Lissamphibia Rainforest Wallace's flying frog Digital Object Identifier
680369
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