Parachuting and Defying Gravity

Part of the Frogs: A Chorus of Colors exhibition.

Chinese gliding frogs have enhanced webbing between their toes. When leaping between branches or escaping toward the ground, their toes spread, and the webbing stretches like the wing of a hang glider. Although no frogs can truly fly, gliding frogs can soar and land gracefully from daunting heights. Their winged feet allow them to bank and steer through the air, and adhesive toe pads help them stick where they land.

Chinese Gliding Frog

Polypedates dennysi

Class: Amphibia
Family: Rhacophoridae
Size: Up to 4 inches
Food: Insects
Range: Southeastern China and Myanmar
Habitat: Montane forests
Life Cycle: Females lay eggs in foam nests attached to branches and grasses overhanging water. They create the nests by beating a frothy secretion into foam with their hind legs.