Rhacophorus rhodopus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rhacophorus rhodopus |
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| Rhacophorus rhodopus - Phu Kradueng National Park | |
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The Rhacophorus rhodopus is a type of frog that belongs to the moss frog family, known as Rhacophoridae. You can find this frog in many parts of Southeast Asia. Its home stretches from India to southern China, and south into Malaysia. It was recently found in Laos, too. Scientists have had some discussions about how to classify this frog.
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What Does This Frog Look Like?
The Rhacophorus rhodopus is a medium-sized tree frog. It has a pointy snout. Adult frogs usually grow to be about 31 to 55 millimeters long. Female frogs are typically larger than males.
Its back can be reddish, pinkish, or yellowish-brown. It never has green colors when it's alive! You'll often see many darker spots on its back. Sometimes these spots form an "X" shape behind its head. There might also be stripes across its lower back. Occasionally, it has a few large white spots on its back.
The hind legs and upper parts of its arms are usually the same color as its back. Dark bands often cross the top of its arms and hind legs. The sides, belly, and toes are dark yellow. Right behind its arms, there is almost always a noticeable large black spot on its sides. The skin between its toes, called webbing, is bright orange-red and has no spots. Its eyes are light brown.
This frog was once confused with another frog, R. bipunctatus. But you can tell them apart! R. rhodopus is smaller. R. bipunctatus grows to about 37 to 60 millimeters. Also, R. rhodopus has a spotted brown back without any green or olive colors. R. bipunctatus has a bright green to brownish-green back without dark spots. If two frogs are the same size, R. bipunctatus will have a much bigger head.
Where Does This Frog Live?
The Rhacophorus rhodopus lives in warm, wet places. Its natural habitats include subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It also lives in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, which are forests on mountains. You can also find it near temporary freshwater marshes. These frogs live from almost sea level up to at least 1,500 meters ASL (above sea level).
Is This Frog Endangered?
The Rhacophorus rhodopus is considered a species of Least Concern. This means it is not currently threatened with extinction. This decision was made by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). They looked at its wide range across many countries. Another name for this frog, R. namdaphaensis, was once thought to be a separate species. It was listed as "Data Deficient" because scientists weren't sure how far it spread. But now we know R. namdaphaensis is the same frog as R. rhodopus. So, overall, this frog is doing well!
How Scientists Classify This Frog
Scientists sometimes have different ideas about how to name and group animals. This happened with Rhacophorus rhodopus. It was first described in 1960. The first frogs studied came from Mengyang in China. Later, similar frogs were found in Thailand, Vietnam, and India. The frogs from India were called R. namdaphaensis in 1985.
For a while, some scientists thought R. rhodopus was the same as R. bipunctatus. This caused a lot of confusion! The problem was that scientists didn't always compare the actual original frog specimens. They sometimes relied on older descriptions.
In 2007, scientists finally looked closely at the original frogs that were used to describe R. bipunctatus and R. namdaphaensis. They compared them with other frogs from Southeast Asia. It turned out that the frogs from the India-China-Myanmar border, originally called R. bipunctatus, were actually a different species. This species was later named Rhacophorus htunwini.
The frogs described as R. rhodopus and R. namdaphaensis were indeed the same species. So, R. namdaphaensis is now considered an older name for R. rhodopus. This means R. rhodopus is a species that lives in a very wide area, from eastern India all the way east and south. The actual R. bipunctatus (which is the same as R. htunwini) is a different frog. It usually has a green back, unlike R. rhodopus which is brown. This careful study helped clear up the mystery of these similar-looking frogs!
Images for kids
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Rhacophorus rhodopus - Phu Kradueng National Park
