Flying Frog

Genus Rhacophorus

Amphibian

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about flying frogs. We talk about new animals every week; be sure to glide your cursor over the subscribe button! Maybe flying frog isn’t the best way to describe these amphibians as they can’t really fly. A better name might be gliding frog, or even parachuting frogs! Eh, flying frogs has a nice ring to it though. There are lots of different frog species that have developed to have more thoroughly webbed feet thus giving them the ability to catch the wind between their toes. Though their classification is debated, today we’ll specifically be looking at the frogs most commonly referred to as the flying frogs. Aren’t they amazing?

Flying frogs are found throughout the forests of Asia and there are about 80 recognized living species. Some species depend on primary forests, or forests that have largely been untouched by humans, others are a bit more adaptable and can tolerate, or even prefer, secondary forests; which are forests that have regrown after disturbance by humans. Flying frogs may also be found anywhere from sea level to more than one and a quarter miles (2,000 meters) above sea level, with some species only appearing in forests at least half a mile (800 meters) upwards. Perhaps not needing mention, within these forests, flying frogs are typically found living within the trees at any level from canopy, or the tops of the trees, to the understory, the plants and tree bits that aren’t quite the ground but are nearly there. Flying frogs usually don’t leave the trees without purpose (or if they misjudged and glide); however, after heavy rains they may descend and go looking for love.

The mating habits of flying frogs is generally understudied, but they seem to have a preference for breeding right after the rainy season. This is likely because during this time ephemeral pools become available as perfect places over which to hang their nests. Yeah, even as babies these frogs fly. Female flying frogs construct their nests over pools of water either on overhanging leaves or rocks. The nests are foamy and she’ll deposit the eggs within at which point her selected the male will fertilize them. The female will then give the nest some hugs before leaving her babies forever. This hugging motion isn’t like a good-bye hug when dropping the kids off at college and is more like a mom hugging her child so wrapped in winter coats the child may suffer from heat stroke even in the snow outside.

After about a week, the tadpoles will hatch and drop from their nest into the water below. They’ll spend a month or two developing, eating detritus that includes their own siblings that didn’t make the fall. When they become adults, flying frogs mostly feed on insects, though there is superstition in some areas these frogs inhabit. The superstition goes that the flying frogs eat fruit crops and are thus a bad omen. I dunno, they don’t look too frightening to me. I mean, it’s not like they’re all that big or anything. The average flying frog is about two inches (5 centimeters) in length, though some species may double that size.

The way these frogs go about catching their food is from where their namesake is derived. With special pads on the bottoms of their toes to help with landing, flying frogs may soar as far as 50 feet (15 meters) to traverse the trees. For scale, that would like Chester being able to glide an entire home run in a baseball diamond with plenty of feet to spare!

For more facts on flying frogs, check out the links in the description! Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!