The Four-lined Tree Frog is also like... Spiderman
by Vanessa Ting
Think about it. The only thing Spiderman really has in common with spiders is that he shoots webbing out of his wrists. Spiders certainly don't leap around, or cling and perch adroitly on vertical cylindrical things (skyscrapers for Spiderman and twigs, stems and other vegetation for the Four-lined Tree Frog, otherwise known as Polypedates leucomystax).
Unlike aquatic frogs, Tree Frogs spend almost their entire lives out of water. Look closely at the picture above and notice that this Four-lined Tree Frog has expanded, disc-like toe pads that are sticky and help it cling onto plants. The fingers are long and unwebbed, making gripping easier; the toes, on the other hand, are three-quarters webbed.
A Four-lined Tree Frog has four dark lines running down its back (shown more clearly in this picture here), and dark cross-bars on its legs. As with all other frogs, the male is smaller than the female, and its call is a single-note quack or kwaaark (hear it here).
Four-lined Tree Frogs also have something in common with leopards - click to see how!
This photograph was taken by Benjamin Ong of The RIMBA Project, during his days as an Ecology student in UM. Expand the content of this section on the Polypedates leucomystax by sending us more photos!
