# Polypedates maculatus > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Polypedates_maculatus > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Polypedates_maculatus.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypedates_maculatus > Source revision: 1314689011 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Species of amphibian}} {{redirect|Rhacophorus maculatus|text=This was also the original name of ''[Rhacophorus bipunctatus](/source/Rhacophorus_bipunctatus)'', described by Anderson in 1871}} {{Speciesbox | image = Polypedates maculatus Calicut.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = {{cite IUCN |title= ''Polypedates maculatus'' |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/174265377/174451114 |article-number=e.T174265377A174451114 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T174265377A174451114.en |id=174265377 |year=2023 |author1=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group |accessdate=February 1, 2024}} | genus = Polypedates | species = maculatus | authority = ([J.E.Gray](/source/John_Edward_Gray), 1830) | synonyms = * ''Hyla maculata'' J.E.Gray, 1930 * ''Rhacophorus maculatus'' (J.E.Gray, 1830) * ''Polypedates himalayensis'' (Annandale, 1912) }} '''''Polypedates maculatus''''', the '''Indian tree frog''', or '''Chunam tree frog''', is a common species of tree frog found in [South Asia](/source/South_Asia). It was described by [John Edward Gray](/source/John_Edward_Gray) in 1830.{{harvnb|Grey|1830}} Date is often given as "1833" but the volume in question was already out in 1830 {{harv|Wheeler|1998}}. Although now considered as a separate species again, for a time, the [Himalayan tree frog](/source/Himalayan_tree_frog) was considered as a [subspecies](/source/subspecies) of the Indian tree frog (as ''P. m. himalayensis''). ''[Polypedates leucomystax](/source/Polypedates_leucomystax)'', a very similar species, was formerly included in ''P. maculatus''. ==Description== [[Image:Polypedates maculates at Kandalama, Sri Lanka.jpg|thumb|left|At Kandalama, [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka)]] [[File:Polypedates maculatus head top view in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka in the night on14 July 2021.jpg|left|thumb|Head dorsal view in Trincomalee, [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka)]] [[File:Polypedates maculatus head side view in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka in the night on14 July 2021.jpg|left|thumb|Head lateral view in Trincomalee, [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka)]] thumb|225x225px|Tadpole of ''P. maculatus'' These frogs measure about 7–8 cm in body length. They are mostly brownish, yellowish, greyish, or whitish above, with darker spots or markings, rarely with an hourglass-shaped figure on the back of the head and the front of the back. The [loreal](/source/Lore_(anatomy)) and [temporal](/source/Temple_(anatomy)) regions are dark; there is a light line on the upper lip. The hind side of the thighs has round, yellow spots, which are usually separated by a dark-brown or purplish network. The skin is smooth above, and granulated on the belly and under the thighs; a fold extends from the eye to the shoulder. Males have internal vocal sacs.{{harvnb|Boulenger|1890}} The [vomer](/source/vomer)ine teeth are arranged in two more or less oblique series between the [choana](/source/choana)e or commencing close to the inner front edge of the latter. The skin of head is free; a more or less developed bony arch – sometimes slender and partly [ligament](/source/ligament)ous, sometimes very thick and swollen – extends on each side from the posterior border of the [frontoparietal bone](/source/frontoparietal_bone)s to the [squamosal](/source/squamosal)s. The snout is pointed with a rounded tip, about as long as the diameter of the [orbit](/source/Orbit_(anatomy)), the [canthus rostralis](/source/canthus_rostralis) is distinct, and the loral region is concave. The nostril is located much nearer to the end of the snout than to the eye. The interorbital space is broader than the upper eyelid. The [eardrum](/source/eardrum) measures about three-fourths the diameter of the eye. The fingers are barely webbed, and the toes are two-thirds webbed. The disks of fingers and toes are moderately developed; that of the third finger measures two-fifths to one-half the diameter of the eye. The subarticular tubercles are of moderate size. When the hind leg is held alongside the body, the [tibio](/source/tibia)[tarsal](/source/Tarsus_(skeleton)) articulation reaches the eye, or between the eye and the tip of the snout. ==Distribution and ecology== It is widespread throughout [Bhutan](/source/Bhutan), [India](/source/India), [Nepal](/source/Nepal), and [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka), as well as western and southern [Bangladesh](/source/Bangladesh) to [Chittagong District](/source/Chittagong_District); its range might also extend into nearby [China](/source/China) and [Myanmar](/source/Myanmar). This common and adaptable frog is listed as [Least Concern](/source/Least_Concern) by the [IUCN](/source/IUCN). They may use day roosts regularly. Their call is a sudden short and rapid series of rattling ''rat-tat''s.{{harvnb|Kanamadi|Schneider|Hiremath|Jirankali|1993}} They wipe themselves with skin secretions consisting of [mucus](/source/mucus) and [lipid](/source/lipid)s that help in reducing moisture loss. When temperatures are higher, they secrete from the skin ("sweat"), pant, and adopt lighter skin colours.{{harvnb|Lillywhite|Mittal|Garg|Agrawal|1997}}, {{harvnb|Lillywhite|Mittal|Garg|Das|1998}} In south India they can be a nuisance to households as they enter homes in search of food. They can climb walls with the help of their webbed feet and reach even higher floors, entering through the open windows. ==Footnotes== {{Reflist}} ==References== {{Refbegin}} * {{Citation |author-link=George Albert Boulenger |last=Boulenger |first=George Albert |year=1890 |chapter=61. ''Polypedates maculatus'' |title=Fauna of British India - Reptilia and Batrachia |pages=475–476 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=London |url=https://archive.org/stream/TheFaunaOfBritishIndiaReptiliaAndBatrachia/TheFaunaOfBritishIndiaReptiliaAndBatrachia.djvu |format=DjVu}}. * {{Citation |author-link=John Edward Gray |last=Gray |first=John Edward |year=1830 |contribution=[Description of ''Polypedates maculatus''] |title=Illustrations of Indian Zoology |page=83, plate 82}}, [http://images.nypl.org/?id=414855&t=w Plate 82 image]. * {{Citation |last1=Kanamadi |first1=R. D. |last2=Schneider |first2=H. |last3=Hiremath |first3=C. R. |last4=Jirankali |first4=C. S. |year=1993 |title=Vocalization of the tree frog ''Polypedates maculatus'' (Rhacophoridae). |journal=Journal of Biosciences |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=239–245 |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/jarch/jbiosci/18/239-245.pdf |doi=10.1007/BF02703121|s2cid=26497326 }}. * {{Citation |last1=Lillywhite |first1=Harvey B. |last2=Mittal |first2=Ajay K. |last3=Garg |first3=Tarun K. |last4=Agrawal |first4=N. |year=1997 |title=Wiping Behavior and Its Ecophysiological Significance in the Indian Tree Frog ''Polypedates maculatus'' |journal=[Copeia](/source/Copeia) |volume=1997 |issue=1 |pages=88–100 |doi=10.2307/1447843 |publisher=Copeia, Vol. 1997, No. 1 |jstor=1447843}}. * {{Citation |last1=Lillywhite |first1=Harvey B. |last2=Mittal |first2=Ajay K. |last3=Garg |first3=Tarun K. |last4=Das |first4=Indraneil |year=1998 |title=Basking Behavior, Sweating and Thermal Ecology of the Indian Tree Frog, ''Polypedates maculatus'' |journal=Journal of Herpetology |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=169–175 |doi=10.2307/1565293 |publisher=Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 32, No. 2 |jstor=1565293}}. * {{Citation |doi=10.3366/anh.1998.25.3.345 |last=Wheeler |first=A. |year=1998 |title=Dates of publication of J. E. Gray's Illustrations of Indian Zoology (1830–1835) |journal=Archives of Natural History |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=345–354}}. {{Refend}} ==External links== * [http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-genus=Polypedates&where-species=maculatus Amphibia web] {{Taxonbar|from=Q2708647}} maculatus Category:Frogs of India Category:Amphibians described in 1830 Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Polypedates maculatus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypedates_maculatus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypedates_maculatus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.