Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Vertebrata Order Anura Scientific name Rhacophorus bimaculatus Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Subclass Lissamphibia Suborder Neobatrachia Higher classification Rhacophorus | |
Similar Rhacophorus, Frog, Amphibians, Rhacophorus edentulus, Rhacophoridae | ||
Rhacophorus bimaculatus is a frog species in the moss frog family (Rhacophoridae). Described by Wilhelm Peters in 1867, it is endemic to the Philippines. There, it is known to occur on the islands of Bohol, Mindanao, and in the south of Luzon; it might also be found on other islands as its known range brackets the main chain of the Philippines archipelago.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, and freshwater springs. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Taxonomy
This species was initially placed in the genus Leptomantis, as L. bimaculata. It was erroneously described a second time in 1922, under the junior synonym Philautus zamboangensis. When Leptomantis was merged into Rhacophorus, its name became the senior homonym of the R. bimaculatus named so by G. A. Boulenger in 1882; that species was subsequently renamed to R. bipunctatus. For some time, it was believed that similar frogs from Indonesia and Malaysia also belonged to the present species. But this was found to be wrong, and the western relative is now known as R. cyanopunctatus. Tadpoles from Borneo were also discussed under the name R. bimaculatus; these actually were of R. cyanopunctatus or R. gauni.