Litoria

Litoria is a genus of Pelodryadidae tree frogs native to Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and the Moluccan Islands. It is the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Litoriinae and are sometimes collectively referred to as Australasian treefrogs. They are distinguishable from other tree frogs by the presence of horizontal irises, no pigmentation of the eyelids, and their distribution east and south from Wallacea. Over 90 species are described, but several new species are described every year on average, such as the Pinocchio frog, discovered in 2008 and described in 2019.[1][2]

Litoria
Bleating tree frog (Litoria dentata)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Pelodryadidae
Subfamily: Litoriinae
Genus: Litoria
Tschudi, 1838
Species

See text

The species within the genus Litoria are extremely variable in appearance, behaviour, and habitat. The smallest species is the javelin frog (L. microbelos), reaching a maximum snout–to–vent length of 1.6 cm (0.6 in),[3][4] while the largest, the giant tree frog (L. infrafrenata), reaches a size of 13.5–14 cm (5.3–5.5 in). The appearance, behaviour, and habitat of each frog is usually linked. The small, darkly coloured frogs are generally terrestrial, and never, or infrequently, climb. The larger, green species are usually arboreal and some only venture to the ground to breed.

Species

Litoria everetti
Litoria fallax
Litoria jervisiensis
Litoria nasuta

The following species are recognised within the genus Litoria (many others have been moved to Nyctimystes and Ranoidea):[5]

References

  1. Newscientist.com
  2. Richards, Stephen J.; Mumpuni, Mumpuni; Günther, Rainer; Oliver, Paul M. (2019-05-14). "Systematics of New Guinea treefrogs ( Litoria : Pelodryadidae) with erectile rostral spikes: an extended description of Litoria pronimia and a new species from the Foja Mountains". Zootaxa. 4604 (2): 335–348. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4604.2.6. ISSN 1175-5334.
  3. Jean-Marc Hero, Dale Roberts, Paul Horner, Richard Retallick (2004). "Litoria microbelos". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Javelin Frog Litoria microbelos (Cogger 1966)". Government of Western Australia. 2013.
  5. "Litoria Tschudi, 1838 | Amphibian Species of the World". research.amnh.org. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
  6. Anstis, Marion; Tyler, Michael J.; Roberts, Dale; Price, Luke C.; Doughty, Paul (2010). "A new species of Litoria (Anura: Hylidae) with a highly distinctive tadpole from the north-western Kimberley region of Western Australia" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2550: 39–57. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2550.1.3. hdl:2440/61497.
  7. Richards, Stephen J.; Oliver, Paul M.; Krey, Keliopas; Tjaturadi, Burhan (2009). "A new species of Litoria (Amphibia: Anura: Hylidae) from the foothills of the Foja Mountains, Papua Province, Indonesia". Zootaxa. 2277: 1–13.

Bibliography

  • Frogs of Australia. Litoria genus . Amphibian Research Centre.
  • Frogs Australia Network search: Litoria
  • Cogger, H.G. 1979. Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia. A. H. & A. W. REED PTY LTD ISBN 0-589-50108-9
  • Tyler, Michael J. 1992. Encyclopedia of Australian Animals: Frogs. Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0-207-15996-3
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