Biodiversity Encyclopedia: The Prince of Love Songs - Hwaixi Rain Frog
Today, we are going to introduce you toSpine animals • Hwaixi rain frogs.
Hwaixi rain frogs Hyla annectans
Spine animals, amphibians, tailless order, rain frog family, rain frog genus. Common names include rain frogs, bamboo kings, forest kings, and tree worshipers. It is often found in freshwater bodies at an altitude of 750-2470m or in the grass and leaves near rice paddies, with a distribution in China in Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Guangxi, etc. The photo was taken on Gaoligong Mountain.
Hwaixi rain frogs undergo complete metamorphosis, and their life cycle involves three forms: eggs, tadpoles, and adult frogs. Hwaixi rain frogs are relatively small in size, with males having a body length of 28-36mm and females having a body length of 34.5-40mm. Female frogs generally lay dozens to hundreds of connected egg masses after hatching, with the average length of tadpoles being 32mm. The tadpoles have a yellow-green mark on the back of their heads and tails with cloud spots. Mature Hwaixi rain frogs are mostly green in color, with smooth skin on their backs and a milky white abdomen. Their pupils are horizontally oval, and their nostrils are near the lips; their snouts are wide and high, and the tips of their mouths do not generally form Y-shaped patterns or fine line patterns; their fingers and toes have suction cups to facilitate climbing plants.
Whenever the summer rainy season comes, it is the season when Hwaixi rain frogs breed and mate. Before the rain, after the rain, and at dawn, they are most active. At this time, male frogs will grow brown nuptial pads on their first fingers. The nuptial pad is a prominent fleshy pad on the forelimbs of male frogs before the breeding period, which is produced by glands with sticky or horny spikes. With the nuptial pad, the groom can tightly hold the smooth skin of the bride in the water.
Male frogs attract female frogs by making calls. When male frogs 'sing love songs', a large amount of air is sucked into the vocal sacs, causing the male frogs' chins to swell into a translucent 'balloon-like' orb, which is very cute and adorable. The male frogs who sing the loudest and make the most ringing calls will be favored by female frogs and have the opportunity to mate.
Fan Yi, ecological photographer. He has won the International Garden Photographer Award for four consecutive years and won the first prize in the wild plant and animal category of the 2018 China Ecological Photography Competition. He is committed to photographing the human landscape and biodiversity beauty in western China, especially in Yunnan.
