
Photo: (c) Ahirbudhnyan M, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus
Range
Endemic to the Anaimalai Hills, Western Ghats (Tamil Nadu and Kerala)
Size
Males 47-54mm; females 66-72mm
Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus, the Anaimalai flying frog, also called the false Malabar gliding frog or false Malabar tree frog, is endemic to the Anaimalai Hills, part of the southern Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Adult males measure 47-54 mm and adult females 66-72 mm in snout-vent length. The eyes are protruding, the fingers and toes are extensively webbed, and the webbing is light yellow to red-orange (Wikipedia, general species account).
Juveniles have a distinctive black zebra-like pattern on a green background that becomes fainter in adults, resembling the venation of a leaf. Scientists note that it is the only Rhacophorus to resemble a leaf in this way, and speculate that the purpose is camouflage (Wikipedia, general species account).