''Anstisia'' is a genus of

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Myobatrachidae Myobatrachidae, commonly known as Australian ground frogs or Australian water frogs, is a family of frogs found in Australia and New Guinea. Members of this family vary greatly in size, from species less than long, to the second-largest frog in ...

. These frogs are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to southern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Prior to 2022, these species were classified in the genus ''

Geocrinia ''Geocrinia'' is a genus of frogs in the family Myobatrachidae. These frogs are endemic to Australia. Two species are known from southeastern Australia (Victoria and Tasmania), while one is known from southeastern Western Australia. All the spe ...

''. However, a study split four ''Geocrinia'' species into their own genus, noting major phylogenetic divergence and striking differences in life history and larval morphology between two groups within the genus. This new genus was named ''Anstisia'' in honor of Australian

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...

Marion Anstis. The major differences in life history between ''Anstisia'' and ''Geocrinia'' have long been noted, even before it was split as a distinct genus. Members of ''Anstisia'' have entirely terrestrial

tadpoles A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in ...

that are nourished by

yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example ...

until metamorphosis, while members of ''Geocrinia'' have land-developing embryos that develop into aquatic tadpoles. ''Anstisia alba'' is considered critically endangered, due to habitat loss from expansion of the wine industry in Western Australia.

Species

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q113540643 Myobatrachidae Amphibian genera Amphibians of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia