Rhacophorus
Encyclopedia
Rhacophorus is a genus
of frog
s in the moss 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
. It is closely related to Polypedates
, and several species
of that genus were formerly placed in Rhacophorus.
These frogs have long toes with strong webbing between them, enabling the animals to slow their fall to a glide. They are therefore among the anurans commonly known as "flying frog
s".
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s in the moss frog family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(Rhacophoridae
Rhacophoridae
Rhacophoridae is a family of frog species, which occur in tropical regions of Asia and Africa. They are commonly known as shrub frogs, or more ambiguously as "moss frogs" or "bush frogs". Some Rhacophoridae are called "tree frogs"...
) which together with the related Hylidae makes up the true tree frogs. They live in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. It is closely related to Polypedates
Polypedates
Polypedates is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. The common name is Whipping Frogs.-Species:* Polypedates chenfui .* Polypedates chlorophthalmus Das, 2005.* Polypedates colletti ....
, and several species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of that genus were formerly placed in Rhacophorus.
These frogs have long toes with strong webbing between them, enabling the animals to slow their fall to a glide. They are therefore among the anurans commonly known as "flying frog
Flying frog
A "flying" frog is a frog that has the ability to glide. That is, it can descend at an angle of less than 45° relative to the horizontal. Arboreal frogs can also descend vertically, but only at angles greater than 45°, which is referred to as parachuting...
s".