Chinese edible frog

Chinese edible frog
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Dicroglossidae
Genus:Hoplobatrachus
Species: H. rugulosus
Binomial name
Hoplobatrachus rugulosus
(Wiegmann, 1834)
Synonyms

Rana tigrina ssp. pantherina Steindachner, 1867

The Chinese edible frog, East Asian bullfrog, or Taiwanese frog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus) is a species of frog in the Dicroglossidae family. It is found in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pasture land, rural gardens, urban areas, ponds, aquaculture ponds, open excavations, irrigated land, seasonally flooded agricultural land, and canals and ditches.[1] They breed in spring–early summer.[2]

The domesticated Thai variety and wild Chinese populations of H. rugulosus belong to two separate genetic lineages respectively.[3] Yu et al. (2015) suggests that H. rugulosus may in fact be a cryptic species complex.[3]

Description

H. rugulosus is a large, robust frog, up to 12 cm (4.7 in) or more in snout-vent length.[2] Females are larger than males. They are primarily insectivores.[4]

Regional names

The Chinese edible frog is commonly referred to as 田雞 ("field chicken") or 虎皮蛙 ("tiger-skinned frog") in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and Chinese communities worldwide. In Filipino, they are called "palakang bukid," which means "frog of the field."

Usage

The frogs are commonly found in wet markets, seafood markets, and pet stores. In wet markets, they are usually sold per piece or per kilogram. The medium-sized frogs are sold as pets in pet stores, and the smaller variant is sold as live food for arowanas. They are widely farmed in Sichuan, China, Malaysia, and Thailand.

These frogs, though much smaller than their Western counterparts, are used by Chinese to cook frog legs and by Filipinos who cook them using the adobo method. The frog's forelimbs and hind legs are fried in oil, while in the adobo method (in which the entire frog is utilized), they are cooked in soy sauce and vinegar.

References

  1. 1 2 Arvin Diesmos; Peter Paul van Dijk; Robert Inger; Djoko Iskandar; Michael Wai Neng Lau; Zhao Ermi; Lu Shunqing; Geng Baorong; Lue Kuangyang; Yuan Zhigang; et al. (2004). "Hoplobatrachus rugulosus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2004: e.T58300A11760194. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T58300A11760194.en. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 Lue, Kuang-Yang. "Hoplobatrachus rugulosus". BiotaTaiwanica. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  3. 1 2 Yu D, Zhang J, Li P, Zheng R, Shao C (2015) Do Cryptic Species Exist in Hoplobatrachus rugulosus? An Examination Using Four Nuclear Genes, the Cyt b Gene and the Complete MT Genome. PLoS ONE 10(4): e0124825. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124825
  4. ↑ Lin, Z.; Ji, X. (2005). "Sexual dimorphism in morphological traits and food habits in tiger frogs, Hoplobatrachus rugulosus in Lishui, Zhejiang" (PDF). Zoological Research. 26 (3): 255–262.
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