CLASSIFICATION OF RHACOPHORUS : FLYING FROG
PHYLUM :- CHORDATA (Notochord, dorsal tubular nerve cord present and gill slits present )
Group :- CRANIATA ( Definite head. Cranium with brain present )
Sub-phylum :- VERTEBRATA ( vertebral column present)
Division :- GNATHOSTOMATA ( Jaws and paired appendages present )
Super class :- TETRAPODA ( Paired limbs, lungs, bony skeleton and cornified skin)
Class :- AMPHIBIA ( Scaleless glandular skin , have 3 chambered heart , cold blooded, 2 occipital condyles, can live in water and land both )
Order :- ANURA OR SALIENTIA (Tail, external gills and gill-slits absent. both hind limbs and fore limbs well developed ).
Sub-order :- DIPLASIOCOELA ( First 7 vertebrae procoelus 8th amphicoelus and 9th contains 2 condyles.
Genus :- Rhacophorus
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
The tree frogs or flying frogs are found in Africa, South Eastern Asia Japan and Madagascar.
HABIT AND HABITAT
Rhacophorus is a tree-living frog. It remains calm and quiet under stones or on trees and comes out during twilight. It has power of rapid colour changing.
GENERAL CHARACTERSTICS OF RHACOPHORUS-FLYING FROG
- Commonly called flying frog or tree frog.
- Body slender, divided into head and trunk. Belly narrows posteriorly, Females larger than males.
- Head broad and somewhat conical containing paired eyes with well-developed eye lids. Tympanum behind eyes.
- Hind limbs elongated and thin. Both fore-limbs and hind limbs contain well-developed web in digits which also bear adhesive cushions at tips.
- The flying frogs climb on trees and walls and occasionally glide and while alighting on ground the webs are spread like parachute.
- Eggs laid usually in gelatinous foam over shallow water of pools and rice fields.
- upper limbs of the frog are green with small, scattered white spots. Faint black lines will sometimes radiate from its back to the dorsum of its limbs
- Over forty species are currently recognised.
Special features
Rhacophorus shows extreme degree of adaptive radiation in frogs as it has acquired the power of flying or parachuting while alighting from trees. It shows parental care Rhacophorus schlegeli has evolved a novel technique to care for its eggs. The copulating males and females burrow deep into the ground on the bank of the standing pond. Eggs are laid in froth and parents retire through a tunnel they dig behind which slopes down to open in pond. The froth settles down and turns into a fluid shortly before larvae hatch and slip into the pond.
Identification
Since this Anura contains well-developed webs and above features, hence it is Rhacophorus or Flying frog.
REFERENCES
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhacophorus
- https://amphibiaweb.org/species/6527
- Book of Practical Zoology VERTEBRATE by S.S.LAL – Rastogi Publications.
- https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Rhacophorus/classification/
- SOURCES OF IMAGES – https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FRhacophorus_reinwardtii&psig=AOvVaw1bFUyLNJ3sIIas4b69boDG&ust=1602671676210000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=2ahUKEwiIuPGwr7HsAhV4K7cAHeBXCzUQr4kDegUIARDRAQ
- https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F290763719668470989%2F&psig=AOvVaw1bFUyLNJ3sIIas4b69boDG&ust=1602671676210000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=2ahUKEwiIuPGwr7HsAhV4K7cAHeBXCzUQr4kDegUIARDtAQ
- https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FWallace%2527s_flying_frog&psig=AOvVaw1bFUyLNJ3sIIas4b69boDG&ust=1602671676210000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=2ahUKEwiIuPGwr7HsAhV4K7cAHeBXCzUQr4kDegUIARDTAQ
