 |
Family : RANIDAE
Species : Hylarana macrodactyla
Size (snout to vent) :
Female 28.1–36.1 cm, Male 25.4–27.1 cm
(Source: Hasan et al, 2019)
Hylarana macrodactyla
(Three-striped Grass Frog, Guangdong Frog, Long-legged Frog) occurs in
Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia (the
northern states of Perlis, Kedah and Penang) and parts of southern China
(source: Amphibiaweb - see link below).
Wikipedia summarise the varied subtropical and tropical habitats occupied by
this species as dry forest, moist lowland forest, moist montane forest, seasonally wet or flooded lowland
grassland, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, rural gardens, heavily degraded
former forest, ponds, and irrigated land. It has been recorded
from the lowlands up to 1500 metres elevation (IUCN, 2022).
This frog is reportedly difficult to find by day, as they hide amongst grass roots or
in small, vacant burrows. At night they emerge to forage near waterbodies.
There is significant size difference between males and females. Hasan et al
(2019) state that 'males are significantly smaller and have relatively shorter toes than
females, but have a relatively wider distance between nostrils and a larger
tympanum; females have relatively longer and larger forelimbs'.
This frog is easy to identify in the field. Its body is long and slender,
typically with a
continuous pale stripe along the vertebral line, and a parallel dorsolateral
stripe on each side of the body. The skin is smooth, brownish or greenish.
The limbs are yellowish brown with dark bands and blotches.
The hind limbs and toes are exceedingly long, and the longest toes extend
forwards to reach the front limbs when at rest. The species name
'macrodactyla' is derived from the words 'macros' and 'daktylos' in Greek,
which mean 'long' and 'toe' respectively. This adaptation allows the frog to
make huge
leaps to evade a potential threat.
The diet of Hylarana macrodactyla comprises arthropods, insects and other invertebrates (Jaafar,
2009).
Fig 1 : Example found at night on a muddy track in degraded lowland forest
at Siem Reap, Cambodia. It measured an estimated 2.5 to 3.0 cm total length.
Photo thanks to Derek Clark
Fig 2 : Waterlogged lowland forest at Siem Reap, Cambodia. Seasonally
flooded and waterlogged forest provides breeding grounds for Hylarana
macrodactyla and other species.
References :
Hasan, M., Lai, J. S., Poyarkov, N. A., Ohler, A., Oliver, L. A., Kakehashi,
R., ... & Sumida, M. (2019). Identification of Hylarana tytleri
(Theobald, 1868): elements for the systematics of the genus Hylarana
Tschudi, 1838 (Anura, Ranidae). Alytes, 37(1-2), 1-30.
IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2022. Hylarana macrodactyla. The
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T58652A63858375.
Jaafar, I., Chai, T. C., Sah, S. A. M., & Akil, M. A. M. M. (2009).
Checklist and simple identification key for frogs and toads from district IV
of the Mada scheme, Kedah, Malaysia. Tropical Life Sciences Research, 20(2),
49.
Links :
- AmphibiaWeb
- Hylarana macrodactyla
- Wikipedia
- Hylarana macrodactyla
|