Frog ID pls.

[cynopsis]

What specie is this?

I found this in our garden on a typical rainy December. It resembles a reed frog to me , but I dnt know what this frog is.. This is the only clear photo of it since I used a phonecam.

 

[xdartfrogx]

From all the pics and books I have/have gone through, my opinion is that it is a Asian Foam-nest Treefrog. But I am no expert, so please correct me if I am wrong. Awesome frog find either way! Thank you for sharing the beautiful frog pic!

 

[FrogEyes]

On the assumption you're actually IN the Philippines, I'd have to say it's a rhacophorid of some sort, probably Polypedates hecticus or one of the many Philautus. That would depend greatly upon which island, and in some cases where on the island, as there are many species only found in small parts of the Philippines. There's a steady stream of new species as well. I don't yet have a field guide for Philippines - not even access to an old Taylor or Brown monograph

 

[cynopsis]

Well, I lived in the island of mactan (Lapu-Lapu City), Cebu.
The island is teeming with invasive Bufo Marinus so I assumed that there are
no native frogs on the area till that frog appeared in garden.

I remember that after I took a pic on this herp, It hopped "vertically" , or so it seems, and stick its body on a concrete wall like a sticky gelatin.

:happy:

I appreciate your efforts on the ID of this frog. :frog:

 

[FrogEyes]

Rhinella marina isn't known for wiping out native frog populations, so much as the frog-EATERS it poisons. However, Philippines has native toads which could mean some degree of safety for frog-eaters which already avoid toads or eat them safely.

Unless a Rhacophorus or Polypedates has been introduced to Cebu, you are likely limited to a couple of endemic species of Philautus. I have no good reference to what those might be, though the AMNH online catalog will list all recognized species, along with their reported distributions. For some species, those will include the names of specific islands [except when widely distributed across many].

 

[cynopsis]

Yeah, I thought so. Marinus toads r'nt frog eaters, but their population in breeding pools crowds the native frogs.. or so it seems.. i dnt knw for sure,

It rained last night, guess what, I found the same frog again, only bigger so I assume it was an adult. Too bad I didnt brought my camera with me at that time. But, I found a new peculiar toad in the backyard, the moment I caught it and put it in an empty enclosure w/ plenty of coco coir, it suddenly burrows after the cam shutter!

will post pics of it later, cheers!

 

[cynopsis]

Sorry for the delay, very tight schedule in school lately, hehe..

well here it is:

I've released the frog after it show signs of weakness..

notable features/habits:
burrows a lot and at great speed
hops in a springy motion
will stare at you when looked at
it bites
has a squishy feeling in the abdomen
has claws(?)

will appreciate your identification, cheers!

 

[FrogEyes]

Most likely Kaloula kokacii. The dorsal pattern rules out a couple of species [which mostly don't occur in Philippines anyway], and the specific location seems to have only one recognized species.

You can use the most recently described species for SOME comparison:
http://www.nhm.ku.edu/rbrown/Rafes PDF publications/2002_Diesmos_et_al_CopeiaKaloula.pdf
And the checklist with distributions for all amphibians:
Amphibian Species of the World
This may also be of interest:
http://www.asiatic-herpetological.org/Archive/Volume 09/09_07.pdf

 

[cynopsis]

I found it about a week ago in a puddle at our backyard garden ( same puddle as the frog on top) since it started raining here..
thanks for the reference sir ~

According to the last pdf, as ive noticed at the bottom, are the key words:
Reptiles, amphibians, SE Asia, Philippines, Panay, Visayan Islands, conservation crisis,
herpetofauna.

also, there are 3 Kaloula sp. that I found in the pdf file.. maybe I'll e-mail PARA(Philippine Amphibian and Reptile Association) then..

so, I guess its a Kaloula sp.
cheers~

 

[FrogEyes]

I made an error in identifying where you were located - I had the city right and the island wrong. Kaloula picta occurs on Cebu.

 

[cynopsis]

I made an error in identifying where you were located - I had the city right and the island wrong. Kaloula picta occurs on Cebu.

Definitely K.picta, my friend told me. He also said that K. kokacii is restricted only in Bicol region.

 

[FrogEyes]

Correct on both points. I didn't realize that Cebu City was on Cebu Island - for whatever reason, I was thinking of Cantanduanes instead.

My impression is that most Philippine Kaloula are very similar in appearance, and it's often subtleties of the feet which are most important for telling them apart - that is, aside from where they are found. It's important to double-check those identifying features, as it's quite common in Philippines [and certain other places] for a new species to be hidden under the wrong name for decades because no-one looked closely enough to determine it was something different. Sometimes there will be more than one new species in an area - perhaps one at sea level and another 500m or higher in mountain rain forest and both looking similar to something found 5km away on the "mainland".