Malabar Gliding Frog

Description:

The Malabar gliding frog or Malabar flying frog is a moss frog species found in the Western Ghats of India. The term "gliding" frog refers to its ability to break its fall by stretching the webbing between its toes when making leaps down from the treetops. It can make gliding jumps of 9–12 m, a maximum of about 115 times its length. This frog has a body length of about 10 cm (4 in), making it one of the largest moss frogs. Males are smaller than females. Its back skin is finely granulated and the color is vivid green without markings. The belly is more coarsely granulated – particularly under the thighs – and pale yellow. There are skin fringes between and along the long limbs, and a triangular skin extension at the heel. The webbing between fingers and toes is large and orange-red.

Habitat:

Endemic to the western ghats of India. It lives on trees. It is nocturnal and in the day time it sleeps on the fresh leaves making it extremely difficult to identify.

Notes:

This photograph was taken in Agumbe (Karnataka, India).