Polypedates cruciger
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Polypedates cruciger (commonly known as the Sri Lanka whipping frog or common hour-glass tree-frog) is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to Sri Lanka. It has been osbserved as high as 1600 meters above sea level.
This frog can tolerate different habitats, including secondary forest, banana farms, gardens, and buildings. Scientists have not seen this frog in primary forest. Scientists say this frog is not in danger of dying out because of its large range and tolerance to altered habitat.
Scientists used to think frog was conspecific with Polypedates pseudocruciger, which lives in India's Western Ghat mountains. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Common Hourglass Tree Frog sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 25 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February, April, June and August
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Common Hourglass Tree Frog in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in October, the lowest month.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Hourglass Tree Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Common Hourglass Tree Frog sightings, Sinharaja Forest Reserve has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Minneriya National Park (Sri Lanka, about 30%) and Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Rhacophoridae
The closest relatives of the Common Hourglass Tree Frog that you can see in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (family Rhacophoridae, Old World Tree Frogs) are Sharp-snout Saddled Tree Frog (about 30%), Common Shrub Frog (about 30%) and Sharp-snouted Shrub Frog (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Hourglass Tree Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (45 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
