Hylarana erythraea
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English name: Green Paddy Frog (aka “Common Green Frog”, “Common Greenback”)
Scientific name: Hylarana erythraea, (formerly known as Rana erythraea)
Thai name: Kob bua, Kiat chik
Description: To 8cm long. A medium-sized frog with smooth skin. Body is green, brown, or both, with a narrow cream-to-yellow stripe extending from behind each eye to the rear legs and a white stripe lower down along the sides. Upper stripe can sometimes have black edges. Head is long and narrow. Legs are especially long, with long half-webbed toes. Underside is white.
Tadpoles are up to 5cm long. They have oval bodies and deep tails that taper to a tip. Their bodies and tails are green or brown with dark speckling, and the tails sometimes have a cream stripe.
Call: Squeaky warbles or “pips”.
Similar Species: Three-striped Grass Frog is similar, but is more slender and has a narrow stripe down the middle of the back.
Asian Grass Frog has ridges on the skin, lacks stripes on the sides, and often has a stripe down the middle of the back.
Habitat: Lives in and near lakes, rivers, marshes, and especially disturbed habitats such as city ponds, irrigation ditches, and rice paddies. Usually found within a few jumps of the water.
Place in the ecosystem: Eats insects and millipedes. Eaten by birds, snakes, monitors, and fish.
Danger to humans: No danger to humans.
Conservation status and threats: The IUCN Red List lists the Green Paddy Frog as “Least Concern” due to its ability to tolerate a range of habitats and its large populations. Some populations have been affected by chemical pollution. The Green Paddy Frog has been introduced to Indonesia and the Philippines.
Interesting facts: The Green Paddy Frog is the best jumper among Bangkok frogs. It is wary of humans, and when disturbed on land will often take several jumps of a meter or more in order to seek refuge under vegetation or in the water.
References:
The IUCN Red List: Hylarana erythraea
Forest Department Sarawak: Green Paddy Frog
Ecology Asia: Common Greenback
A Field Guide to the Amphibians of Cambodia
Travellers’ Wildlife Guides: Thailand
Reptiles and Amphibians of Thailand 