IUCN Conservation Status –
Least Concern
Extinct In The Wild
Class: Amphibians
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Also known as the Thao whipping frog and Fea’s flying frog, the Fea’s tree frog is native to the tropical forests in parts of China, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.
Their diet is primarily made up of insects.
Interesting facts!
- Fea’s tree frogs are arboreal, meaning they spend most of their time in trees.
- This frog may not be able to actually fly, but they have strong webbing between their toes to slow their fall from trees to a glide – a trick also known as ‘parachuting’.
- The ‘whipping’ part of the species’ name comes from the way the females use their back legs to whip up foam to make a nest for their eggs. Their frothy nests tend to be near or above the water, and the tadpoles drop into the water when they hatch.
Conservation
This species is threatened by habitat loss and collection for food in the wild.
A few UK zoos house this frog to try and research more about their behaviour and breeding habits. Paignton Zoo successfully bred Fea’s tree frogs for the first time in 2019.