Polypedates megacephalus Hallowell, 1861
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Brown Tree Frog, Polypedetes megacephalus. Taken in Wu Kau Tang.
Thomas Brown · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Polypedates megacephalus, the Hong Kong whipping frog or spot-legged tree frog, is a species in the shrub frog family (Rhacophoridae). In its native range, it is also called "brown tree frog", but this name is otherwise applied to a species of the true tree frog family (Hylidae).
Wikipedia contributors, Polypedates megacephalus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T17:53:27.514233+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Polypedates megacephalus Hallowell, 1861
- Name authority
- Hallowell, 1861
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Rhacophoridae
- Genus
- Polypedates
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- familyRhacophoridae Hoffman, 1932
- subfamilyRhacophorinae Hoffman, 1932
- genusPolypedates Tschudi, 1838
- speciesPolypedates megacephalus Hallowell, 1861
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Polypedates. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Polypedates cruciger Blyth, 1852 | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates hecticus Peters, 1863 | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates impresus Yang, 2008 | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates insularis Das, 1995 | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates leucomystax (Gravenhorst, 1829) | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates macrotis (Boulenger, 1891) | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates maculatus (Gray, 1830) | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates occidentalis Das & Dutta, 2006 | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates otilophus (Boulenger, 1893) | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates ranwellai Wickramasinghe, Munindradasa & Fernando, 2012 | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates subansiriensis Mathew & Sen, 2009 | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Polypedates taeniatus (Boulenger, 1906) | RhacophoridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Sylvirana scutigera (Andersson, 1916) (Andersson, 1916) | synonym |
| Hylarana scutigera (Andersson, 1916) (Andersson, 1916) | synonym |
| Chalcorana scutigera (Andersson, 1916) (Andersson, 1916) | synonym |
| Polypedates maculatus unicolor Müller, 1878 Müller, 1878 | synonym |
| Rhacophorus leucomystax megacephalus (Hallowell, 1861) (Hallowell, 1861) | synonym |
| Rana scutigera Andersson, 1916 Andersson, 1916 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=665610 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4LD5C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.