White-lipped Tree Frog (Taipei)

English Name: White-lipped Tree Frog, "Brown Tree Frog"*, Brauer's Tree Frog**
Scientific Name: Polypedates braueri (Polypedates megacephalus)**
Chinese Name: 白頷樹蛙 (bai2han4 shu4wa1)
Chinese Meaning: "White-Chinned Tree Frog"

White-lipped Tree Frog (Polypedates megacephalus)

Date: May 24, 2010
Location: Shiyuan Rd., Wenshan District, Taipei City
Coordinates: 24° 59' 24" N, 121° 32' 58" E

One day about a year and a half ago I ran into this tree frog while returning home to our old apartment. It was just sitting there on the sheet-metal wall that separated our driveway from the empty lot next door. I was a bit surprised by its size - it was easy three inches or more from nose to tail. This was my first and only time encountering an adult of this species, though it is reported to be fairly common in Taiwan and China.** A closely related species, Polypedates leucomystax (also sometimes known as the White-lipped Tree Frog), is found throughout most of South and Southeast Asia. Tree frogs in the genus Polypedates are sometimes known as "whipping frogs," apparently due to the masses of foam that they "whip up" to protect their eggs, laid just above areas of standing water. This method of reproduction, which relies on the tadpoles falling or getting washed into the water below, is actually also typical of many other kinds of frogs in the Old World tree frog family Rhacophoridae.

Tadpole of White-Lipped Tree Frog (Polypedates megacephalus)

Date: June 5, 2011
Location: Hemeishan Nature Trail, Xindian District, New Taipei City
Coordinates: 24° 57' 11.6" N, 121° 31' 59.3" E

One year later, I got the chance to see the species in its larval stage while on a walk in the hills a few kilometers away. I discovered one or two tree frog tadpoles swimming in a small pool of water along with a big crowd of the smaller, hexagon-headed young of the Ornate Narrow-Mouthed Frog (Microhyla fissipes (ornata)). Like the adult frog, White-lipped Tree Frog tadpoles are relatively large - this one must have been about two inches long - and they are also recognizable by their dark body color and characteristic white patch at the tip of the snout.

More photos:

  

*The term "Brown Tree Frog" is often used for both this frog and another species found in Taiwan, Buergeria robusta, not to mention at least one species from elsewhere in the world. To avoid confusion, I have chosen to use another of the common names of Polypedates megacephalus here.

**The native Taiwan variety of this frog has been renamed Polypedates braueri ("Brauer's Tree Frog"). The name Polypedates megacephalus, used until very recently for these frogs in Taiwan, is still in use for the similar frogs found in Hong Kong and southern China. Confusingly, that variety was also introduced to Taiwan in 2006, becoming an invasive species on the island, so now Taiwan has both P. megacephalus and P. braueri. Based on descriptions and distribution maps, I believe the frogs in these photos are the native variety, P. braueri.

Banded Bull Frog (Kaohsiung)

English Name: Banded Bull Frog, Chubby Frog, Asian Painted Frog
Scientific Name: Kaloula pulchra
Chinese Name: 花狹口蛙 (Hua Xiakouwa)
Chinese Meaning: "Flowered Narrow-Mouthed Frog"

Date: July 13, 2009

Location: Park by Jiahong Rd., Nanzih District, Kaohsiung City
Coordinates:  22°43'4.42" N, 120°17'42.53" E

This frog is actually native to Southeast Asia, and was introduced into Taiwan in the last ten years or so, probably through the pet trade - it's popular in pet stores, where it's known in English as the "Chubby Frog". The first picture shows one that I found hopping around on the ground. I think it might be a juvenile, because it seemed a little smaller than the others I saw.

When it's time to mate, the males puff themselves up like balloons and float in pools of water while making loud croaking noises. I found a bunch of them hanging out in the drains in this little park in the suburbs of Kaohsiung (that's what you see in the second photo). Their call is really loud, and sounds somewhere between a cow and Chewbacca from Star Wars. And when they make the sound, their throats bulge out into a big bubble, like this:

There are about 32 species of frogs and toads in Taiwan, and nearly 5,000 worldwide. About a third of the world's frog species are believed to be endangered by habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and other threats. However, the Banded Bull Frog is not believed to be in danger - in fact, in recent times it has been colonizing more and more countries in Asia, even reaching as far as Australia and New Zealand. Individual frogs of this species are known to live for up to 10 years.

There's a lot of good information about Taiwan's frogs online, but most of it's in Chinese. However, there's a great English-language site called Frogmosa, with a really nice interface, and information about all the different species.