Polypedates otilophus

species of amphibian

The bony-headed Rhacophorus, Bongon whipping frog, or file-eared tree frog (Polypedates otilophus) is a frog. It lives in Borneo.[2][1] People have seen them from sea level to 1000 meters above sea level.[3]

Polypedates otilophus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Genus: Polypedates
Species:
P. otilophus
Binomial name
Polypedates otilophus
(Boulenger, 1893)
Synonyms[2]
  • Rhacophorus otilophus Boulenger, 1893
  • Rhacophorus (Rhacophorus) otilophus Ahl, 1931
  • Polypedates otilophus Liem, 1970

The adult male frog is 64-80 mm long from nose to rear end and the adult female frog is 82-97 mm. The skin of the frog's back is brown or yellow or gray or yellow-brown in color. The belly is nearly white in color. Each frog has thin black stripes on the back of its head. There are stripes and dots on other parts of the body and thicker stripes on the back legs. The iris of the eye is yellow-gray in color and the pupils go side to side and open up and down.[1]

The tadpoles are yellow-green on top and and silvery white on the belly. Some of them have yellow spots on their dorsal fins. The tadpoles become the same color as adults after their hind legs begin to grow but before their front legs grow.[1]

This frog lives in forests. It can live in trees or smaller woody plants. The female frog lays eggs in foam nests on leaves 30 cm over rain pools. When the eggs hatch, the tadpoles fall into the rain pool or stream. This frog can live in places that human beings have changed, such as palm oil farms.[3]

This frog eats insects and other animals without bones, such as tree crickets.[1] Sometimes this frog will eat smaller frogs.[3]

Scientists believe this frog is not in danger of dying out but there are fewer of them than there were because human beings change the places where it lives by cutting down the forest. But scientists have seen that this frog can live in places where humans have cut down only a few trees at a time.[3]

Human beings used to catch this frog to sell as pets, but the frogs usually died.[1]

This frog can have a smell that humans do not like.[1]

References

change
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Cindy Liu (May 7, 2008). Kellie Whittaker; Michelle S. Koo (eds.). "Polypedates otilophus (Boulenger, 1893)". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Frost, Darrel R. "Polypedates otilophus (Boulenger, 1893)". Amphibian Species of the World, an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2018). "File-eared Tree Frog: Polypedates otilophus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T79102536A79102366. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T79102536A79102366.en. Retrieved February 7, 2024.