Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: ParaHoxozoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Olfactores
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Batrachomorpha
Classis: Amphibia
Subclassis: Lissamphibia
Superordo: Batrachia
Cladus: Salientia
Ordo: Anura
Familia: Rhacophoridae
Subfamiliae (2): Buergeriinae - Rhacophorinae
Name
Rhacophoridae Hoffman, 1932: 581 [conserved by Article 40.2 (ICZN 1999)]
Type genus: Rhacophorus Kuhl & Van Hasselt, 1822.
Synonyms
Polypedatidae Günther, 1858: 346
Type genus: Polypedates Tschudi, 1838.
References
Primary references
Hoffman, A.C. 1932. Researches relating to the validity of the South African Polypedatidae (Rhacophoridae) as an autonomous family of the Anura. South African Journal of Science 29: 562–583. Reference page.
Günther, A. 1858. On the systematic arrangement of the tailless batrachians and the structure of Rhinophrynus dorsalis. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 26(1): 339–352. BHL
Additional references
Liem, S.S. 1970. The morphology, systematics and evolution of Old World treefrogs (Rhacophorinae and Hyperoliidae). Fieldiana. Zoology 57: 1–145. BHL Reference page.
Channing, A. 1989. A re-evaluation of the phylogeny of Old World Treefrogs. South African Journal of Zoology 24(2): 116–131. DOI: 10.1080/02541858.1989.11448143 Open access Reference page.
Wilkinson, J.A. & Drewes, R.C. 2000. Character assessment, genus level boundaries, and phylogenetic analysis of the family Rhacophoridae: a review and present day status. Contemporary Herpetology 2000(2): 1–14. DOI: 10.17161/ch.vi1.11961 Open access Reference page.
Wilkinson, J.A., Drewes, R.C. & Tatum, O.L. 2002. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family Rhacophoridae with an emphasis on the Asian and African genera. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 24(2): 265–273. DOI: 10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00212-9 Paywall Reference page.
Li, J.-T., Che, J., Bain, R.H., Zhao, E.-M. & Zhang, Y.-P. 2008. Molecular phylogeny of Rhacophoridae (Anura): a framework of taxonomic reassignment of species within the genera Aquixalus, Chiromantis, Rhacophorus and Philautus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48(1): 302–312. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.03.023 Paywall Reference page.
Li, J.-T., Che, J., Murphy, R.W., Zhao, H., Zhao, E.-M., Rao, D.-Q. & Zhang, Y.-P. 2009. New insights to the molecular phylogenetics and generic assessment in the Rhacophoridae (Amphibia: Anura) based on five nuclear and three mitochondrial genes, with comments on the evolution of reproduction. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 53(2): 509–522. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2009.06.023 Paywall Reference page.
Yu, G.-H., Rao, D.-Q., Zhang, M.-W. & Yang, J.-X. 2009. Re-examination of the phylogeny of Rhacophoridae (Anura) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 50(3): 571–579. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.023 Paywall Reference page.
Pyron, R.A. & Wiens, J.J. 2011. A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2,800 species, and a revised classification of extant frogs, salamanders, and caecilians. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61(2): 543–583. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.06.012 Paywall Reference page.
Li, J.-T., Li, Y., Klaus, S., Rao, D.-Q., Hillis, D.M. & Zhang, Y.-P. 2013. Diversification of rhacophorid frogs provides evidence for accelerated faunal exchange between India and Eurasia during the Oligocene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110(9): 3441–3446. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1300881110 Open access Reference page.
Chan, K.O., Grismer, L.L. & Brown, R.M. 2018. Comprehensive multi-locus phylogeny of Old World tree frogs (Anura: Rhacophoridae) reveals taxonomic uncertainties and potential cases of over- and underestimation of species diversity. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 127: 1010–1019. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.07.005 Paywall Reference page.
Chen, J.-M., Prendini, E., Wu, Y.-H., Zhang, B.-L., Suwannapoom, C., Chen, H.-M., Jin, J.-Q., Lemmon, E.M., Lemmon, A.R., Stuart, B.L., Raxworthy, C.J., Murphy, R.W., Yuan, Z.-Y. & Che, J. 2020. An integrative phylogenomic approach illuminates the evolutionary history of Old World tree frogs (Anura: Rhacophoridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 145: 106724. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106724 Paywall Reference page.
Links
Frost, D.R. 2021. Rhacophoridae. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.1 (7 May 2021). Electronic Database accessible at https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. DOI: 10.5531/db.vz.0001
Vernacular names
беларуская: Весланогі
Deutsch: Ruderfrösche
English: Old World Tree Frogs
magyar: Valodi bekak
日本語: アオガエル科
norsk: Frosker
slovenčina: Lietavkovité
svenska: Akta grodor
ไทย: ปาดโลกเก่า
The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China and Taiwan, south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are commonly known as shrub frogs, or more ambiguously as "moss frogs" or "bush frogs". Some Rhacophoridae are called "tree frogs". Among the most spectacular members of this family are numerous "flying frogs".
Although a few groups are primarily terrestrial, rhacophorids are predominantly arboreal treefrogs. Mating frogs, while in amplexus, hold on to a branch, and beat their legs to form a foam. The eggs are laid in the foam and covered with seminal fluid before the foam hardens into a protective casing. In certain species, this process occurs collectively. The foam is deposited above a water source, ensuring that the tadpoles drop into the water upon hatching.[1]
The species within this family vary in size from 1.5 to 12 cm (0.59 to 4.72 in).[1] Like other arboreal frogs, they have toe discs, and those of the genus Chiromantis have two opposable fingers on each hand. This family also contains the Old World flying frogs, including Wallace's flying frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus). These frogs have extensive webbing between their fore and hind limbs, allowing them to glide through the air.[2]
Taxonomy
Evolution
The Rhacophoridae are the sister group to the Mantellidae, a family of frogs restricted to Madagascar. Both families are thought to have diverged during the Paleocene, although previous studies estimated a Cretaceous divergence. Two different hypotheses for this divergence have been proposed: one that the Mantellidae and Rhacophoridae diverged when Insular India broke from Madagascar, with the Rhacophoridae colonizing the rest of Asia following the collision of India with Asia, and the other proposing that the common ancestors of both families inhabited Asia, with the ancestral Mantellidae colonizing Madagascar from India via long-distance dispersal, using India as a stepping stone.[3][4]
Amboli bush frog (Pseudophilautus amboli), a member of the Rhacophoridae, with enlarged vocal sac for mating calls
Genera
Subfamily Buergeriinae Channing, 1989
Buergeria Tschudi, 1838
Subfamily Rhacophorinae Hoffman, 1932 (1858)
Beddomixalus Abraham, Pyron, Ansil, Zachariah, and Zachariah, 2013
Chirixalus Boulenger, 1893
Chiromantis Peters, 1854
Feihyla Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006
Ghatixalus Biju, Roelants, and Bossuyt, 2008
Gracixalus Delorme, Dubois, Grosjean, and Ohler, 2005
Kurixalus Ye, Fei, and Dubois, 1999
Leptomantis Peters, 1867
Liuixalus Li, Che, Bain, Zhao, and Zhang, 2008
Mercurana Abraham et al., 2013[5]
Nasutixalus Jiang, Yan, Wang, and Che, 2016
Nyctixalus Boulenger, 1882
Philautus Gistel, 1848
Polypedates Tschudi, 1838
Pseudophilautus Laurent, 1943
Raorchestes Biju, Shouche, Dubois, Dutta, and Bossuyt, 2010
Rhacophorus Kuhl and Van Hasselt, 1822
Rohanixalus Biju, Garg, Gokulakrishnan, Chandrakasan, Thammachoti, Ren, Gopika, Bisht, Hamidy, and Shouche, 2020
Taruga Meegaskumbura, Meegaskumbura, Bowatte, Manamendra-Arachchi, Pethiyagoda, Hanken, and Schneider, 2010
Theloderma Tschudi, 1838
Vampyrius Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021
Zhangixalus Li, Jiang, Ren, and Jiang, 2019
Phylogeny
This phylogeny of the Rhacophoridae is from Yu et al. (2008):[6]
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Parasites
As many frogs, rhacophorids harbour monogenean worms in their urinary bladders. The parasite species specialized to this family of frogs belong to the genus Indopolystoma, described in 2019.[7]
References
Zweifel, Richard G. (1998). Cogger, H.G.; Zweifel, R.G. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 99–100. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
Sunny Shah & Rachna Tiwari (2001-11-29). "Rhacophorus nigropalmatus, Wallace's Flying Frog". AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 2007-06-22. "Edited by Tate Tunstall (2003-04-12)"
Li, Jia-Tang; Li, Yang; Klaus, Sebastian; Rao, Ding-Qi; Hillis, David M.; Zhang, Ya-Ping (2013-02-26). "Diversification of rhacophorid frogs provides evidence for accelerated faunal exchange between India and Eurasia during the Oligocene". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (9): 3441–3446. Bibcode:2013PNAS..110.3441L. doi:10.1073/pnas.1300881110. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3587228. PMID 23401521.
Feng, Yan-Jie; Blackburn, David C.; Liang, Dan; Hillis, David M.; Wake, David B.; Cannatella, David C.; Zhang, Peng (2017-07-18). "Phylogenomics reveals rapid, simultaneous diversification of three major clades of Gondwanan frogs at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114 (29): E5864 – E5870. Bibcode:2017PNAS..114E5864F. doi:10.1073/pnas.1704632114. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 5530686. PMID 28673970.
Robin Kurian Abraham; R. Alexander Pyron; Ansil B. R.; Arun Zachariah; Anil Zachariah (2013). "Two novel genera and one new species of treefrog (Anura: Rhacophoridae) highlight cryptic diversity in the Western Ghats of India". Zootaxa. 3640 (2): 177–189. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3640.2.3. PMID 26000411.
Yu Guohua, Rao Dingqi, Zhang Mingwang, Yang Junxing. Re-examination of the phylogeny of Rhacophoridae (Anura) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 50 (2009) 571–579. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.023
Chaabane, Amira; Verneau, Olivier; Du Preez, Louis (2019). "Indopolystoma n. gen. (Monogenea, Polystomatidae) with the description of three new species and reassignment of eight known Polystoma species from Asian frogs (Anura, Rhacophoridae)". Parasite. 26: 67. doi:10.1051/parasite/2019067. ISSN 1776-1042. PMC 6865761. PMID 31746733. Open access icon
Cogger, H.G.; R.G. Zweifel; D. Kirschner (2004). Encyclopedia of Reptiles & Amphibians Second Edition. Fog City Press. ISBN 1-877019-69-0.
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