Common Name: Black webbed Flying Tree Frog or Reinwardt’s Flying Frog
Scientific Name: Rhacophorus reinwardtii
Family: Rhacophoridae – Asian Tree Frog family
Location: Indonesia and Malaysia
Female Size: 2.2 – 3.1 inches (55.4 – 79.6 mm)
Male Size: 1.6 – 2.0 inches (41.6 – 52.5 mm)
The Black webbed Flying Tree Frog lives high in the canopy of the rain forests. They can use their highly webbed fingers to glide or “fly” from tree to tree. They come down to the ground to mate in pools, creating large breeding groups. Once the frogs finds a mate, they travel back up the tree to leaves overhanging the pool. The female creates a foam nest to protect the eggs from drying out. Next, the female lays her eggs and the male fertilizes them. Afterwards, both parents leave the eggs and provide no other parental care. Once the eggs hatch, the tadpoles fall into the pool below where they finish up their metamorphosis.
The scientific name honors Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt, a Dutch botanist who helped founded the Bogor Botanical Gardens in Indonesia. Also, he described 2 species of snakes. I can’t find any info on if he was a good dude or not.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assesses the Black webbed Flying Tree Frog as Near Threatened with Extinction. The main threat to the frog is deforestation of the rain forests they call home to make room for farms, plantations, or homes.
