Hose's Frog

Fascinating facts about the Hose's Frog

• A male Hose's frog measures 50–60 mm, while females can reach 85–100 mm.
• When you hear a "cit" sound over a rainforest stream, it may be a Hose's frog calling.
• Hose's frog can live up to 1,700 m above sea level in clear, fast-flowing water and tolerates polluted or secondary forests.
• Its range stretches across the Malay Peninsula, Phuket, Tioman, Borneo, the Batu Islands, Sumatra, Simeulue, Bangka, Belitung and Java.

At a glance

About the Hose's Frog

Hose's frog, Odorrana hosii, is a robust true frog that prowls the swift, clear streams of Southeast Asian rainforests up to 1,700 meters above sea level. Males reach 50–60 mm while females can grow to 85–100 mm, their bodies cloaked in a dark green dorsal surface that may shift to full brown or display speckled green-on-brown patterns, each limb crossed by stark dark bars and tipped with grooved discs for clinging to slick stones. Their call, a sharp "cit" reminiscent of a rat, echoes through the forest canopy, while their tadpoles, oddly lacking suctorial discs, drift beneath the surface, hinting at a life history tuned to fast-flowing waters. Beyond their striking appearance, these frogs exhibit a surprising reproductive quirk: their eggs are encased in a creamy gelatinous layer without the typical dark hemisphere, suggesting a highly specialized oviposition site within the water column. Though primarily tied to pristine streams, Hose's frog shows an unexpected resilience, tolerating moderate pollution and readily colonising secondary forest, a flexibility that sets it apart from many of its more habitat-sensitive amphibian cousins. This blend of vivid coloration, distinctive vocalization, and adaptive breeding strategy makes Odorrana hosii a compelling emblem of Southeast Asia's dynamic riverine ecosystems.

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