Paddy Field Frog

Fascinating facts about the Paddy Field Frog

• At just 39-43 mm from snout to vent, this tiny amphibian fits on the tip of a thumb, yet its skin flashes a palette of gray-brown, olive, bright carmine patches, a V-shaped dark mask between the eyes, a yellow stripe down the spine, barred limbs and a white belly, while males wear a mottled brown throat. Such compact size lets it slip into rice paddies and leaf litter unnoticed, a reminder that even the smallest vertebrates can dominate wet-land ecosystems and serve as key prey for birds and snakes.
• Across Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, locals regularly harvest Fejervarya limnocharis for food, selling the frogs in markets and kitchens. In Cambodia, collectors pull them from fields alongside Hoplobatrachus rugulosus, Glyphoglossus molossus, Kaloula pulchra, Duttaphrynus melanostictus and Pelophylax lateralis, the latter only north of the Mekong River in places like Snuol District, Kratie Province.
• Fejervarya limnocharis roams the lowlands of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, a range confirmed by the Amphibian Species of the World, while earlier reports from South Asia were later dismissed as misidentifications.
• In the sprawling oil-palm estates of Malaysia, Fejervarya limnocharis is one of the few frog species, sharing the plantation floor with Microhyla heymonsi and Hylarana erythraea.
• Molecular studies reveal that Fejervarya limnocharis may actually be a complex of several hidden species, each with its own genetic signature.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Paddy Field Frog

In the lush, emerald expanse of the paddy fields, a tiny, unassuming monarch reigns, the Paddy Field Frog, its mottled brown skin blending seamlessly into the earthy terrain as it hops with effortless ease, its slender legs a blur of motion. As it navigates this watery world, the frog's webbed feet barely ripple the surface, a testament to its remarkable adaptability in this ephemeral landscape of flooding and drought. With its prolific breeding and resilient nature, this diminutive amphibian has thrived in the midst of human activity, a true marvel of ecological resilience.

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