Uperoleia

Uperoleia is a genus of frogs in the family Myobatrachidae. They are native to northern and eastern Australia and southern lowlands of New Guinea.[1] These are small squat frogs, more commonly known as "toadlets". They have glandular skin, often with a pair of raised glands behind each eye, or on the flanks.

Uperoleia
Tyler's toadlet, Uperoleia tyleri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Myobatrachidae
Genus: Uperoleia
Gray, 1841
Species

See text.

Synonyms[1]

Hyperolia — unjustified emendation
Glauertia Loveridge, 1933
Hosmeria Wells and Wellington, 1985
Prohartia Wells and Wellington, 1985

They have bumpy, rough skin giving them the appearance of a small toad, hence the name "toadlet", although they are often called "gungans" in Queensland. There are two distinct types of calls—Uperoleia species make either a "click" or a "squelch". Generally, the "clicking" Uperoleia have long thin inguinal glands that run along the dorsal surface, while the "squelching" Uperoleia have round inguinal glands restricted to the posterior half of the dorsal surface. It is unusual to find more than one species of "clickers" or "squelchers" in the same location, although finding one of each is quite frequent in northern Australia. The species in this genus show great similarities in body shape and colouration making them difficult to tell apart. Call analysis is often required to confirm identification. This genus is the largest of any in the family Myobatrachidae.[2][3]

Clicking Uperoleia include U. glandulosa, U. aspera, U. minima, U. trachyderma, U. lithomoda, U. littlejohni, U. altissima, U. mimula, and U. rugosa. The squelching Uperoleia include U. russelli, U. saxatilis, U. talpa, U. borealis, U. crassa, and U. inundata. The eastern species U. laevigata, U. fusca, U. tyleri, and U. martini are also squelchers, but are distantly related. The species U. mjobergi, U. micromeles, U. micra, and U. daviesae are distinct from these other groups.[2]

Species

Following the Amphibian Species of the World, there are 28 species:[1]

Common nameBinomial name
Montane toadletUperoleia altissima
Davies, Watson, McDonald, Trenerry & Werren, 1993
Jabiru toadletUperoleia arenicola Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Derby toadletUperoleia aspera (Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Northern toadletUperoleia borealis Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Fat toadletUperoleia crassa Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Darwin Sandsheet Frog Uperoleia daviesae Young, Tyler & Kent, 2005
Dusky toadletUperoleia fusca Davies, McDonald & Corben, 1986
Glandular toadletUperoleia glandulosa Davies, Mahony & Roberts, 1985
Flood plain toadletUperoleia inundata Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Smooth toadletUperoleia laevigata Keferstein, 1867
Stonemason's toadletUperoleia lithomoda Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Littlejohn's toadletUperoleia littlejohni Davies, McDonald & Corben, 1986
Mahony's toadletUperoleia mahonyi Clulow, Anstis, Keogh, and Catullo, 2016
Marbled toadlet, yellow-spotted toadletUperoleia marmorata Gray, 1841
Martin's toadletUperoleia martini Davies & Littlejohn, 1986
Tiny toadletUperoleia micra Doughty and Roberts, 2008
Tanami toadletUperoleia micromeles Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Mimic toadletUperoleia mimula Davies, McDonald & Corben, 1986
Small toadletUperoleia minima Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Mjoberg's toadletUperoleia mjobergi (Andersson, 1913)
Alexandria toadletUperoleia orientalis (Parker, 1940)
Wrinkled toadlet, red-groined toadletUperoleia rugosa (Andersson, 1916)
Russell's toadletUperoleia russelli (Loveridge, 1933)
Pilbara toadletUperoleia saxatilis Catullo et al., 2011[2]
Ratcheting toadletUperoleia stridera Catullo, Doughty, and Keogh, 2014
Mole toadletUperoleia talpa Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Blacksoil toadletUperoleia trachyderma Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981
Tyler’s toadletUperoleia tyleri Davies & Littlejohn, 1986)

Note that the AmphibiaWeb recognizes the small-headed toadlet (Uperoleia capitulata Davies, McDonald & Corben, 1986),[4] a species that the Amphibian Species of the World, following Catullo and Keogh (2014),[5] treats as a synonym of the wrinkled toadlet (Uperoleia rugosa).[1]

References

  1. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Uperoleia Gray, 1841". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  2. Catullo, R.A.; Doughty, P.; Roberts, J.D.; Keogh, J.S. (2011). "Multi-locus phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Uperoleia toadlets (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the western arid zone of Australia, with a description of a new species" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2902: 1–43. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2902.1.1.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Myobatrachidae Schlegel, 1850". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  4. "Myobatrachidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  5. Catullo, R.A.; Keogh, J.S. (2014). "Aridification drove repeated episodes of diversification between Australian biomes: Evidence from a multi-locus phylogeny of Australian toadlets (Uperoleia: Myobatrachidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 79: 106–117. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.06.012. PMID 24971737.
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