Fun Malabar Gliding Frog Facts For Kids
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Are you interested to learn about one of the largest moss frogs? In this article, we are going to learn about the amusing Malabar gliding frog.
The Malabar gliding frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) is an amphibian in the family Rhacophoridae. They are also known as Malabar flying frogs.
They are commonly spotted along the Western Ghats in India, especially in the Anaimalai region. Their preferred habitat choices are evergreen trees found in this region. Most tree-dwelling frogs, such as these, are found to live alone and are rarely spotted in groups or with other members of the family.
Breeding activities are observed in these animals when the southwest monsoons kick in. Males, which are smaller than females in size, give out mating calls while the female members choose the mating ground or area.
Mating habitat regions mostly include stagnant water bodies with hanging leaves. The seminal fluid released by the males and developed into foam is used to build their foam nests. The female builds the foam nest using leaves and lays eggs inside it.
The body of this bright green amphibian is not covered in spots but has a granulated back and a pale yellow granulated belly and under thighs. The orange-red webbing between fingers and toes and the triangular extension at the heel make them stand out.
They also have long limbs, vomerine teeth, and a rounded snout. The skin along and around the limbs has fringes, and their nostrils are located close to the snout. Their vocal cords and sacs help them to communicate through croaking and other vocalizations.
The current population of this frog is stable in its original habitat. This frog was first decribed in 1927.
Read on to learn more about these amazing frogs, and if you like this article, do not forget to check out Mozambique rain frog and mountain yellow-legged frog.
Malabar Gliding Frog Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a Malabar gliding frog?
Malabar flying frog is an amphibian in the family Rhacophoridae and is found in the evergreen trees along the Western Ghats in the Indian subcontinent.
What class of animal does a Malabar gliding frog belong to?
The Malabar gliding frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) belongs to the class Amphibia of the animal kingdom.
How many Malabar gliding frogs are there in the world?
Found in the forests along the Western Ghats in India, the Malabar gliding frog is a unique amphibian. It is, however, difficult to ascertain the exact number of these animals currently inhabiting the earth.
Where does a Malabar gliding frog live?
Rhacophorus malabaricus prefers to live on evergreen trees in the Anaimailai region. It is found in a small range along the western ghats in India.
What is a Malabar gliding frog's habitat?
This tree-dwelling frog is found in trees in the evergreen forests of western India and has unique webbed feet. They are often spotted on tree-tops, from where they jump to lower branches or on the ground.
Who do Malabar gliding frogs live with?
The Malabar gliding frog can rarely be spotted in small groups or with other members of the family. A lot of tree frogs also prefer to live on their own.
How long does a Malabar gliding frog live?
There is not enough evidence to conclude how long the Rhacophorus malabaricus can live in the wild. Frogs mostly live between three to six years or 10-15 years in the wild, depending on the species.
So the Malabar gliding frog lifespan is expected to lie three and fifteen years. Frogs like the Vietnamese mossy frog have a lifespan of 10-20 years.
How do they reproduce?
As the southwest monsoon showers set in, mating behavior is observed in the Malabar gliding frogs. Males give out mating calls, and females respond to these calls and choose a suitable place to breed.
Ideal breeding locations include areas of a leaf hanging over stagnant water ponds. Mating in this species lasts for a brief period of time, during which males produce seminal fluid.
The frog builds a foam nest in which it gives birth to the tadpoles.
Once the male is finished making the foam from the seminal fluid, it leaves, and the females build the foam nests. They use their hind legs to collect more leaves, and using the foam as adhesive binds all the leaves to ensure that the foam is covered from all sides.
The female also seals the bottom end of the leaf to form a nest. This is how a female frog builds its nest and eventually gives birth to tadpoles.
What is their conservation status?
The International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN Red List has enlisted the Malabar Gliding frogs as Least Concern.
Malabar Gliding Frog Fun Facts
What do Malabar gliding frogs look like?
Rhacophorus malabaricus males are smaller than females. Found in the forests along the Western Ghats, this frog can grow up to 4 in (10 cm).
The frog has a distinct green body with a granulated back. There are no such markings across the dorsal side of its body.
This frog also has a pale yellow belly, granulated under-thighs, and a large orange-red webbing between its fingers and toes. Rhacophorus malabaricus has long limbs with fringes in the skin and a triangular skin extension at the heel, along with vomerine teeth and a rounded snout.
The snout is almost the size of the diameter of the orbit. The nostrils are at the end of the snout, and the amphibian has broad interorbital space, and the disks of its fingers and toes are large.
How cute are they?
Rhacophorus malabaricus is a cute frog species, and that is owing to their brightly colored bodies and unique feet.
How do they communicate?
Like most frogs, Malabar gliding frogs also communicate with each other by emitting croaks and other vocalizations.
Provided with vocal cords and vocal sacs, these animals are able to breathe in oxygen and force the air to and fro between their lungs and vocal cords so that the air starts to vibrate and it can emit loud calls or croaks.
Their vocal sac acts like an inflatable amplifier.
How big is a Malabar gliding frog?
The Malabar gliding frog has a body length of 4 in (10.16 cm).
This species is about three times smaller than the average-sized goliath frog, which is the largest known frog on earth and has a body length of 13 in (33 cm).
How fast can a Malabar gliding frog move?
Found in evergreen forests, Rhacophorus malabaricus is a unique species owing to its distinct webbed feet. The frog, found along the Western Ghats in India, stretches the webbing between its toes when it makes a leap down from high surfaces like tree-tops. This animal can make gliding jumps with a maximum range of 115 times its length.
How much does a Malabar gliding frog weigh?
Not much information is available on how much the Rhacophorus malabaricus weighs. Although, it is known that most frogs weigh somewhere between 0.35-2.64 0z (10-75 g). So, we can assume that these frogs weigh the same.
What are the male and female names of the species?
A male and female Malabar gliding frog do not have distinct names. However, sometimes male frogs cab be referred to as bullfrogs.
What would you call a baby Malabar gliding frog?
Baby Malabar flying frogs are called tadpoles.
What do they eat?
Not much is known about the feeding habits of this green frog. However, like most frogs, it can be assumed that they feed on invertebrates, insects, small fish, and arthropods found in evergreen forests.
Are they poisonous?
Rhacophorus malabaricus is not a poisonous species. The frog has not been known to inject or possess any kind of venom like the poison frogs.
Would they make a good pet?
Found on tree-tops of the forests along the Western Ghats of the Indian subcontinent, the Malabar flying frog possesses the ability to glide or sail in the air. Keeping this animal as a pet could prove to be a challenging task.
Did you know...
The Malabar flying frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) is often confused with a similar looking species, Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus (R pseudomalabaricus). The confusion arises because the two species look similar, although the R pseudomalabaricus is smaller in size and has a relatively lower population.
Different types of gliding frogs
Names of some of the species of gliding frogs include Malabar gliding frogs, Wallace's flying frog, and Gliding tree frog.
Do Malabar gliding frogs bite?
The Rhacophorus malabaricus has not been observed to bite. Its main defense lies in its ability to quickly travel great distances, sliding or gliding through the air.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these olm facts and bullfrog facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable frog coloring pages.
The second picture is owned by Soumitra Inamdar.
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