Green Paddy Frog (Rana erythraea) (Schlegel)

Description: A small to medium-sized frog with long, muscular hind limbs and a long tapered snout. The toes are about half webbed, with the longest toe (the fourth) free of webbing near the tip. The tips of the toes and fingers are expanded slightly and rounded. The eardrum is prominent. The skin is smooth, though there is a low, wide ridge on each side of the back. The species is bright to dark green on the top of the head, down the back, and along the sides. There is a wide yellow stripe from behind the eye to the end of the body on each side. The upper lip is white and joins a white stripe running over the arm pit and along the lower part of the side. The upper surfaces of the limbs are light brown with fine dark markings. The underside is pearly white, occasionally with slight dark mottling towards the outer edges.

Males: 32 - 45 mm

Females: 48 - 75 mm

Tadpole: The body is oval and the tail rather deep and tapering near the end to a narrow tip. The body and tail are green or brown with dark speckling.

Habits and habitat: This is a frog of disturbed freshwater habitats such as irrigation ditches and, especially, flooded rice fields. They are extremely wary and it is difficult to get close to them even at night. Males do not form calling groups as such, but may be localized within a small area. They usually perch on grass or reeds, while females are more often seen on banks. Rana erythraea eats small terrestrial invertebrates, such as small millipedes, crickets and ants. The tadpoles live in standing water.

Call: A squeaky warble.

Local names: Katak hijau (M)

Distribution: Brunei, Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak. This species is widely distributed in Southeast Asia.