Monday 23 March 2015

Creature 174: Theloderma corticale

A good impersonation of moss
Description:
Theloderma corticale is a frog. You may know it as the Vietnamese mossy frog.


If I had to give an award for the best plant impersonation by an animal, this animal would probably win. When I first saw a picture of these guys I remember looking for information about weather that was actual moss growing on it or just its skin. It turns out that it is just skin. They will often use their sticky foot pads to attach themselves to rocks just above the water level.


Distribution:
Unsurprisingly,  the Vietnamese mossy frog is known from Vietnam.  It is endemic to jungles in the North.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Genus: Theloderma
Species: Theloderma corticale

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