the world that don ’ t glide , so this raises the question : what advantage does the ability to glide give to those few ‘ flying ’ species ? The most plausible explanation is that this adaptation facilitates quick escape from approaching predators . These frogs must also descend to the ground to breed , and the long climb down tree trunks and branches would expose them to increased risk of predation . Given the structure of the primary dipterocarp forests in Borneo , the capacity to glide through the gaps between emergent trees and the
understorey may be of vital importance . It has been shown that large frogs glide better than small ones , just like a bigger paper plane glides better than a small one . Perhaps this specialisation opens the opportunity for Wallace ’ s Flying Frog to live in the tallest of the canopy trees . It is also reasonable to assume that the evolution of this gliding mechanism was driven by a particular predator ( s ) rather than specific habitats . For example , there are no fast-moving arboreal animals such as monkeys or flying snakes in Australian and New Guinean rainforests , and consequently there has been no pressure for frogs to develop evasive aeronautical abilities !
Wallace ’ s Flying Frog is probably not rare but is seldom encountered because these frogs can only be seen anywhere near the ground when breeding , for which the preferred sites are pig and rhino wallows . The female produces a frothy liquid which she kicks into a foam with her hind legs . After the male has fertilised the eggs , they are suspended in this bubble nest over the water , where they are relatively safe from predators . When the small tadpoles are fully developed , the nest disintegrates and they fall into the water below to complete the aquatic stage of their life cycle . Just imagine how difficult it would be to find a wallow in the vast and often impenetrable rainforest at night while the skies are bucketing rain on you . And , of course , even if you do locate a suitable wallow , there is no guarantee that there is going to be a Wallace ’ s Flying Frog sitting there , patiently waiting . I was extremely lucky to find a second specimen the following night , not far from the site where I found the first one . This frog was just plain green with faint bluish markings on its back , but it was nevertheless a very beautiful animal .
Finding tree frogs in Bornean rainforests is indeed a challenging task and a great deal of luck is needed to