Frogs of Malaysia Stamp

Frogs of Malaysia

Frogs or Toads, are collectively known as the Amphibians. Amphibians are animals that spend part of their lives in water and part of their lives on land. What makes an amphibian unusual among the other vertebrates is its skin, which acts not only as a protective layer but also as a respiratory organ. The frogs' or toads' distinctive features include a short, often stocky body, no tail, long hind legs and short front ones, large bulging eyes and a very wide mouth.

Another distinctive characteristic of frogs or toads is their complex life cycle. With a few exceptions, frogs or toads begin life as aquatic larvae, or tadpoles, and undergo a complicated series of changes called metamorphosis, as they assume the form of a frog or toad. Frogs or toads depend on water, not just for breeding, but also for basic survival. Malaysia is among the top 20 countries with the most amphibian species including frogs and toads. The existence of frogs and toads are beneficial to mankind as they consume insects and thus provide assistance in controlling the population of pests.

Horned Toad (Megophrys nasuta)

Megophrys nasuta have specific features that are different from other types of frogs. The "horn" is a very wide, pointed, with triangular projection from the edge of the eyelid. The hind legs are shorter than the front legs and normally males are often substantially smaller than females. The color is light clay to reddish brown, with one or two dark spots on the back. Using its leaf-like appearance for camouflage, Megophrys nasuta is virtually undetectable in the leaf litter of the forest unless it moves. This animal is perfectly designed to fit with its surroundings.

This species live in flat to steep rain forest with thick bamboos, where the area is damp and cool and is commonly found throughout Borneo, Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia.

Spotted Tree Frog (Nyctixalus pictus)

This type of frog is small with relatively long snout and long hind limbs. The skin on the back, head and the upper surface of the limbs is rough, with many small spiny bumps. The body is reddish cinnamon brown or pale red, with white spots scattered on its back, along the edge of the snout and even on the upper eyelid. The upper half of the iris of the eye is white while the lower half is brown. This is one of the most distinctly colored and cannot be mistaken for any other species. The size of this species are almost the same except for the females which are slightly larger than the males.

Nyctixalus pictus lives in primary and old secondary forest and can be found most often in hilly terrain near water at all parts of Borneo except Brunei, southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Philippines.

Brown Tree Toad (Pedostibes hosii)

Brown Tree Toad or its scientific name, Pedostibes hosii has a large, stout body with a thick bony ridge behind the eye and connected to a small paratoid gland. The fingers are long and distinctly shaped, probably an adaptation to climbing. The top of the head is smooth and the back has a few scattered warts. The females' size is bigger than males. The color for the male are light brown while the females are black or dark purple with a pattern of yellow spots. It can be found mostly in undisturbed forests, but may be found on old secondary habitants. The species can be found in all parts of Borneo and also in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand.

Lesser Swamp Frog (Rana laterimaculata)

The size of frog from ranidae family is small and medium. It has a pointed head and snout projecting slightly in profile. The fingers are long and the tips are slightly dilated. It also has small, low and rounded glandular warts on the surface of the skin and scattered oval glands at the sides. Rana laterimaculata has a light line on the upper lip that continues from below the eye to below the eardrum. Its dorsal color can vary from medium reddish-brown to very dark brown and the underside is creamy colored. Swampy areas, primary and secondary forests are the natural habitats of this species and are easily found in West Malaysia, Singapore and the Borneo Islands.

Wallace's Flying Frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus)

Wallace's flying frog is a very large tree frog with an almost rounded snout and very large hands and feet. The fingers and toes are fully webbed. The color of the body is shiny green with lighter yellow on the lateral sides as well as on the toe pads and snout. The hind limbs are relatively larger than the front limbs and provided added trust upon jumping.

The males are slightly smaller than the females. This species is a resident of primary or logged forests at low elevation. It descends down from the forest canopy to breed at turbid pools of water. It is also found on low tree branches near rain puddles by the logging area after heavy rain. Wallace's flying frog can be found in Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak. The species can also be found in southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra.



Technical Details

Date of Issue : 3-May-2007

Denomination : 30 Sen ; 50 Sen (2 Designs)

Stamp Size : 40mm x 30mm

Miniature Sheet Denomination : RM1.00

Miniature Sheet Size : 100mm x 70mm

Stamp Size in Miniature Sheet : 35mm x 35mm

Perforation : 14

Sheet Content : 20 Stamps

Paper : SPM Watermarked, Phosphor Coated

Printing Process : Lithography

Printer : Percetakan Keselamatan Nasional Sdn Bhd

Stamp Designer : Reign Associates Sdn Bhd

Presentation Pack Value : RM 4.00

Miniature Sheet Value : RM 1.00

Folder Value : RM 5.00

POS Malaysia 30 April 2007, Tuesday Press Release

UNIQUE FROG STAMPS EXPECTED TO BE A ‘TOAD’AL SENSATION AT POST OFFICES ACROSS THE NATION!

Pos Malaysia will issue a set of special stamps and First Day Cover on “Frogs of Malaysia” on 3 May 2007. The special stamps and first day cover features a unique collection of images of the species of frogs that can be found in Malaysia.

Frogs and toads are collectively grouped as Amphibians, animals that spend part of their lives in water and part of their lives on lands. An unusual trait of amphibians that sets them apart from other vertebrates is its skin that functions not only as a protective layer but also as a respiratory organ. Another distinctive characteristic of frogs and toads is their complex life cycle. With a few exceptions, frogs and toads begin life as an aquatic larvae or tadpoles and undergo a complicated series of metamorphosis as they assume the form of the adult frog or toad.

“Malaysia is among the 20 countries that have the highest number of amphibian species including frogs and toads. The frogs and toads featured in our new collection of stamps and First Day Cover are some of the most unique and rare species, that can only be found in forests and mangrove swamps across the country. Through our stamps and First Day Cover, we hope that the public can learn more about these colourful and interesting amphibians as well as their unique traits and characteristics,” said Dato’ Idrose Mohamed, Group Managing Director / CEO of Pos Malaysia Berhad.

“Pos Malaysia is committed towards spreading positive message to the customers as well as the general public through our stamps and philatelic items. For the Frogs of Malaysia stamp collection, we hope to convey the message on the importance of conserving our nature so that we do not destroy their fragile habitats and ensure that the future generation is able to enrich their knowledge about these unique frogs and toads,” Dato’ Idrose added.

The stamps, 40mm X 30mm in size, are printed in sheets of 20 on SPM watermarked, phosphor coated paper and are available in two denominations :

• 30sen : Brown Tree Toad / Kodok Pokok (Pedostibes hosii)
  The Brown Tree Toad has a large, stout body with a thick bony ridge behind the eye and connected to a small paratoid gland. The fingers are long and distinctly shaped, probably an adaptation to enable this species to climb trees. The top of its head is smooth and the back has a few scattered warts.
  
  The female’s size is bigger than the male, while the colour difference between both genders is light brown for male and black or dark purple with a pattern of yellow spots for female. It can be found mostly in undisturbed forests, but may also be found in old, secondary forests. The Brown Tree Toad can be found in all parts of Borneo as well as in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand.
• 50sen : Horned Toad / Katak Tanduk (Megophrys nasuta)
  Megophys nasuta have specific features that are different from other types of toads. The ‘horn’ is very wide and pointed, with triangular projection from the edge of both eyelids. The hind legs are shorter than the front legs and normally males are substantially smaller than females. The colour is light clay to reddish red with one or two dark spots on the back.
  Using its leaf-like appearance for camouflage, the Horned Toad is virtually undetectable in the leaf litter of the forest unless it moves. The animal is perfectly designed to fit in with its surrounding.
  
  The Horned Toad lives in flat to steep rain forest where thick bamboo grows and the area is damp and cool. It is commonly found throughout Borneo, Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia.
• 50sen : Spotted Tree Frog / Katak Perang (Nyctixalus Pictus)
  Spotted Tree Frogs is small with relatively long snout and long hind limbs. The skin on the back, head and upper surface of the limbs is rough, with many small, spiny bumps. The body is reddish cinnamon brown or pale red with white spots scattered on its back and, along the edge of the snout and even on the upper eyelid.
  
  The upper half of the iris of the eye is white while the lower half is brown. This is one of the most distinctly coloured and cannot be mistaken for any other species. The size of Spotted Tree Frogs is almost the same with the exception of the female being slightly larger than the male.
  
  Spotted Tree Frogs lives in primary and old secondary forests and can be found most often in hilly terrains near water areas at all parts of Borneo except for Brunei, southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and the Phillipines.

Also available is Miniature Sheet, 10mm x 70mm in size, at RM1 which features :

• Lesser Swamp Frog / Katak Paya (Rana (baramica) laterimaculata)
  The size of frogs from the Ranidae family is small and medium. The Lesser Swamp Frog has a pointed head and snout that project slightly from the profile while the fingers are long with slightly dilated tips. It also has small, low and rounded glandular warts on the surface of the skin and scattered oval glands at the sides.
  
  Lesser Swamp Frogs has a thin line on the upper lip that continues towards the lower part of the eye and below the eardrum. Its dorsal colour can vary from medium reddish-brown to very dark brown while the underside is creamy coloured.
  
  Swampy areas, primary and secondary forests are the natural habitat of this species and can be easily found in West Malaysia, Singapore and the Borneo Islands.
• Wallace’s Flying Frog / Katak Pokok Terbang Wallace (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus)
  Wallace’s Flying Frog is a very large tree frog with an almost rounded snout and very large hands and feet. The fingers and toes are fully webbed while the colour of its body is shiny green with light yellow on the lateral sides as well as on the toe pads and snout. The hind limbs are relatively larger than the front limbs that provide added thrust upon jumping.
  
  The males are slightly smaller than the females. Wallace’s Flying Frogs lives in primary or logged forests at low elevation. It can also be found on low tree branches near rain puddles by the logging area after a heavy rain. It descends from the forest canopy to breed at muddy pools of water. Wallace’s Flying Frog can be found in Kalimantan, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, southern Thailand, Sabah and Sarawak.

First Day Covers are at 30 sen each and Presentation Packs at RM4.00 each can be purchased at all Post Offices nationwide. Folders at RM5 each is only available at selected post offices.

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