Amphibians of Australia are limited to members of the order Anura, commonly known as

frog 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 ...

s. All Australian frogs are in the suborder

Neobatrachia The Neobatrachia (New Latin ''neo-'' ("new") + ''batrachia'' ("frogs")) are a suborder of the Anura, the order of frogs and toads. This suborder is the most advanced and apomorphic of the three anuran suborders alive today, hence its name, whi ...

, also known as the modern frogs, which make up the largest proportion of extant frog species. About 230 of the 5,280 species of

are native to Australia with 93% of them

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 ...

. Compared with other continents, species diversity is low, and may be related to the climate of most of the

Australian continent The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the country of Australia, is located within the Southern and East ...

. There are two known invasive amphibians, the

cane toad The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad native to South and mainland Central America, but which has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania ...

and the smooth newt.

Origins

The Australian continent once formed part of the

supercontinent In geology, a supercontinent is the assembly of most or all of Earth's continental blocks or cratons to form a single large landmass. However, some geologists use a different definition, "a grouping of formerly dispersed continents", which leav ...

Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea () was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million y ...

, which split into Gondwana and Laurasia approximately 180 million years ago. The earliest true frog fossil, ''

Vieraella herbsti ''Vieraella'' is an extinct genus of frog from the Lower Jurassic (Early Pliensbachian to Toarcian) Roca Blanca Formation of Argentina, and one of the oldest true frogs known. This genus is known by a single excepcionally well preserved specime ...

'', is dated between 188 and 213 million years old. This predates the splitting of Gondwana, and has resulted in frogs present on all continents. The first two continents to split from Australia were South America and Africa. The amphibian fauna of both these continents are varied due to collisions with Laurasian continents. However, the South African family Heleophrynidae, and the

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

family

Leptodactylidae The southern frogs form the Leptodactylidae, a name that comes from Greek meaning a bird or other animal having slender toes. They are a diverse family of frogs that most likely diverged from other hyloids during the Cretaceous. The family has u ...

, are both closely related to Myobatrachidae, an Australian family of ground dwelling frogs. Fossil data suggests the

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely rela ...

s, of the family Hylidae, originated in South America after its separation from Africa. Outside Australia, tree frogs are widespread throughout much of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and South America, Europe and Asia. Tree frogs presumably migrated to Australia via Antarctica. Similarities in

melanosome A melanosome is an organelle found in animal cells and is the site for synthesis, storage and transport of melanin, the most common light-absorbing pigment found in the animal kingdom. Melanosomes are responsible for color and photoprotection i ...

s between some ''

Litoria ''Litoria'' is a genus of hylid tree frogs, sometimes collectively referred to as Australasian treefrogs, that are native to Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and the Moluccan Islan ...

'' and ''

Phyllomedusa ''Phyllomedusa'' is a genus of tree frogs in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae found in tropical and subtropical South America (south to northern Argentina) and Panama. It has 16 recognised species. Taxonomy The following species are recognised i ...

'' suggests a relationship between the South American and Australian tree frogs, however

immunological Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

evidence suggests an early

divergence In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of t ...

between the families. India, Madagascar and Seychelles split from Gondwana approximately 130 million years ago. The family

Sooglossidae Sooglossidae, the Seychelles frogs or Seychelles Island frogs, are a family of frogs found on the Seychelles Islands. Until recently, this family was believed to include the genera ''Sechellophryne'', ''Nesomantis'' and ''Sooglossus'', but follo ...

is native to both India and the Seychelles, and is considered a

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to Myobatrachidae.

is more closely related to Myobatrachidae than the African or South American families. Australia and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

are the two major land masses which make up the

. During its history, there have been many land connections between New Guinea and Australia. The most recent of which severed 10,000 years ago during the transition from a

glacial period A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

to the current

interglacial period An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene in ...

. The result of this recent land connection on the Australian amphibian fauna has been the swapping of species, and even families. The origin of the frog species found on both land masses can be determined by their distributions. It is likely that

White's tree frog The Australian green tree frog (''Ranoidea caerulea''), also known as simply green tree frog in Australia, White's tree frog, or dumpy tree frog, is a species of tree frog native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in th ...

(''Litoria caerulea'') migrated from Australia to New Guinea, as it is widespread in Australia and only inhabits small areas within New Guinea. Whereas the giant tree frog (''Litoria infrafrenata'') is likely from New Guinea, as it is widespread in New Guinea, and only inhabits the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

in Australia. The single ''

Nyctimystes ''Nyctimystes'' is a genus of tree frogs in the subfamily Pelodryadinae of the family Hylidae. They are principally Papuan species, but also inhabit islands in the Moluccas. All species in this genus have one distinct feature that separates them ...

'' species in Australia is another example of genus swapping that occurred between New Guinea and Australia. There are two families which are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere which only inhabit far northern Australia. These are

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

and the Ranidae. Two of the 59 genera of Microhylidae, and only one of approximately 750 species of Ranidae are native to Australia. Although both these families are widely distributed throughout the world, they have only recently reached Australia and New Guinea. This is because the Australian continent has remained isolated since its separation from Antarctica, and as it has drifted north towards Asia, many species have been able to cross into New Guinea, and eventually Australia. However, most of the

ecological niche In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. Three variants of ecological niche are described by It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (for ...

s filled by frogs had been filled before the ranids and microhylids reached Australia, so only a limited number of species have established.

Distribution

The distribution of Australian frogs is largely influenced by climate. The areas of largest biodiversity occur in the tropical and temperate zones of northern and eastern Australia.

Arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...

areas have restricted amphibian biodiversity, as frogs generally require water to breed. Many Australian frog species have adapted to deal with the harsh conditions of their habitat. Many species, such as those of the genus ''

Cyclorana ''Ranoidea'' is a genus of frogs in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. They are found in Australia, New Guinea, and two nearby groups of islands: the Maluku Islands, and the Louisiade Archipelago. The circumscription of this taxon is still controvers ...

'', burrow underground to avoid heat and prolonged drought conditions.

Tadpole 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 ...

and egg development of frogs from arid regions differs from those from higher rainfall regions. Some species, such as those of ''

'' and other desert dwelling species have relatively short tadpole development periods. These species often breed in temporary, shallow pools where the high water temperature speeds up tadpole development. Tadpoles that live in such pools can complete development within a month. On the other hand, species such as those in the genus '' Mixophyes'' live in areas of high rainfall. Metamorphosis of ''Mixophyes'' tadpoles may take as long as fifteen months. The sandhill frog (''Arenophryne rotunda'') lives in sand dunes between Shark Bay and

Kalbarri National Park Kalbarri National Park is located north of Perth, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The major geographical features of the park include the Murchison River gorge which runs for nearly on the lower reaches of the Murchison River. Sp ...

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 ...

. This area has very little free-standing water and therefore this species has adapted another way of tadpole development. Sandhill frogs lay their eggs under the sand and the tadpoles develop into frogs entirely within the egg. This adaptation allows them to breed with the absence of water. There are large variety of habitats inhabited by Australian frogs. Variations in rainfall, temperature, altitude and latitude have resulted in a large number of habitats in Australia, most of which are inhabited by frogs. In the

Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of , 'no', and , 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its ...

, daytime temperatures can reach 48.5 °C nights can have freezing condition and rainfall is less than 200 mm per year. These factors make it very difficult for frogs to survive, and few species are found in this area.

Conservation

During the 1980s, population declines were reported in Australian frog species and are severe in some areas. Many of the frogs that were reported as declining were high altitude, creek dwelling species that were remote from a changing ecology. This indicated that habitat loss and degradation were not responsible for all the declines; the cause is unknown but a diseases known as chytrid fungus may be a factor. In some cases entire genera were found declining. Both species of

gastric brooding frog The gastric-brooding frogs or platypus frogs (''Rheobatrachus'') is a genus of extinct ground-dwelling frogs native to Queensland in eastern Australia. The genus consisted of only two species, both of which became extinct in the mid-1980s. The g ...

are now classified as extinct and all but two species of '' Taudactylus'' are critically endangered ('' Taudactylus diurnus'' is classified as extinct and ''

Taudactylus liemi The Eungella tinker frog (''Taudactylus liemi''), also known as Eungella tinkerfrog, Liem's frog, or Liem's tinker frog, is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to the Eungella area in Queensland, Australia. It lives in ...

'' is classified as near threatened). Every species in the genus ''

Philoria ''Philoria'' is a genus of frogs native to eastern and southern Australia. These frogs are all confined to mountain areas, with 7 species occurring in the mountains of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. One species occurs in Victor ...

'' is currently declining and some species in the "torrent frog" complex ('' Litoria nannotis'', '' Litoria lorica'', '' Litoria nyakalensis'' and '' Litoria rheocola'') have not been located for a number of years. three Australian species of frog are classified as extinct, 14 listed as critically endangered and 18 as endangered. Of the 14 critically endangered species 4 have not been recorded for over 15 years and may now be extinct. Prior to the large scale declines of the 1980s,

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

was the major threat to Australian frog species since colonisation. For example, the decline of the giant burrowing frog (''Heleioporus australiacus'') was mostly attributed to altered land use and fire regimes, such as land clearing for housing or agriculture and high intensity fires. The distribution of the giant burrowing frog included Sydney, and therefore, large populations were destroyed.

Extinct frogs

* ''Rheobatrachus silus'' — southern gastric-brooding frog — last seen 1981 * ''Rheobatrachus vitellinus'' — northern gastric-brooding frog — last seen 1985 * ''Taudactylus diurnus'' —

Mount Glorious torrent frog The Mount Glorious day frog (''Taudactylus diurnus''), also known as Mount Glorious torrent frog and southern day frog, is an extinct species of frog native to south-east Queensland. It has not been recorded in the wild since 1979. Description M ...

— last seen 1979

Critically endangered frogs

* ''Cophixalus concinnus'' — elegant frog * ''Geocrinia alba'' — white-bellied frog * ''Litoria booroolongensis'' —

Booroolong frog The Booroolong frog (''Litoria booroolongensis'') is a species of stream-dwelling frog native to the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia. It is a member of the Hylidae, or the "tree frog" family. The Booroolong frog is classifie ...

* ''Litoria castanea'' — yellow-spotted bell frog — rediscovered in 2009 after not being seen for 30 years * ''Litoria lorica'' — armoured frog — rediscovered 2008 after not being seen for about 15 years * ''Litoria nyakalensis'' — Nyakala frog* — last seen 1990 * ''Litoria piperata'' — peppered tree frog* — last confirmed sighting 1973, similar frogs discovered in 1992 * ''Litoria spenceri'' —

spotted tree frog Spencer's river tree frog (''Ranoidea spenceri''), also known as Spencer's tree frog or spotted tree frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat ...

* ''Litoria myola'' — myola tree frog * ''Philoria frosti'' —

Baw Baw frog The Baw Baw frog (''Philoria frosti'') is a critically endangered species of Australian frog as categorised on the IUCN Red List and listed under the ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988)''. It has suffered a decline in population, mostly ...

— as few as 250 adults left in the wild * ''Pseudophryne corroboree'' — corroboree frog — as few as 250 adults left in the wild * ''Taudactylus acutirostris'' — sharp-snouted day frog* — three sightings since 1994 * ''Taudactylus eungellensis'' — Eungella torrent frog * ''Taudactylus pleione'' — Kroombit tinker frog * ''Taudactylus rheophilus'' — tinkling frog* — last seen in 2000

Endangered frogs

* ''Cophixalus mcdonaldi'' —

McDonald's frog Mcdonald's frog (''Cophixalus mcdonaldi'') is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruct ...

* ''Cophixalus monticola'' — mountain nursery frog * ''Cophixalus neglectus'' — neglected frog * ''Litoria brevipalmata'' — green thighed frog * ''Litoria cooloolensis'' — Cooloolah tree frog * ''Litoria nannotis'' —

torrent tree frog The Australian waterfall frog or torrent treefrog (''Ranoidea nannotis'') is a species of tree frog native to Far North Queensland, Australia. The common name "waterfall frog" is indicative of its habitat of moist, rocky streams, and is often fou ...

* ''Litoria raniformis'' —

growling grass frog The growling grass frog (''Ranoidea raniformis''), also commonly known as the southern bell frog, warty swamp frog and erroneously as the green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to southeastern Australia, ranging from sout ...

* ''Litoria rheocola'' — common mist frog * ''Mixophyes fleayi'' — Fleay's barred frog * ''Mixophyes iteratus'' —

giant barred frog The giant barred frog (''Mixophyes iteratus'') is a species of barred frog found in Australia. It occurs from south-eastern Queensland to just south of the Newcastle region in New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wale ...

* ''Nyctimystes dayi'' — Australian lace-lid * ''Philoria kundagungan'' — mountain frog * ''Philoria loveridgei'' — Loveridge's frog * '' Philoria pughi'' * '' Philoria richmondensis'' * ''Philoria sphagnicolus'' — sphagnum frog * ''Pseudophryne covacevichae'' — magnificent brood frog * ''Pseudophryne pengilleyi'' — northern corroboree frog A * indicates possible extinction.

Australian amphibian genera

Australia's amphibian consists of four native

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

, one introduced family and one introduced order. The sole species of true toad introduced to Australia which has

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

, is the

(''Rhinella marinus''), of the family

Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, cat ...

. The cane toad was introduced to several locations throughout

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, and has since spread west and south. The introduction of smooth newt (''Lissotriton vulgaris'') marks the arrival of the order

Urodela Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

to the continent. Despite being prohibited to import, they have been located and have spread considerably to various locations in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

from 2011 to 2016. It has potential to spread throughout south-eastern Australia. The

s, of the family

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and ...

, are one of the major families in Australia, with over 70 species. The tree frogs are split into three genera: ''

'', ''

'' and ''

''. The tree frogs of Australia have various habits, from completely arboreal to fossorial. The other major family native to Australia is Myobatrachidae, consisting of 17 to 22 genera and 112 species. Myobatrachidae is endemic to Australia, New Guinea and a few small islands, however the highest diversity can be found in Australia.

and Ranidae make up a small amount of the Australian frog fauna, with less than 20 species in Microhylidae and one species of Ranidae. The majority of the species within these families are found throughout the world, with Australia making up a small portion of their diversity. All numbers in the above table refer to Australian amphibians.

Notes

References

*Barker, J.; Grigg, G.C.; Tyler, M.J. (1995). ''A Field Guide to Australian Frogs''. Surrey Beatty & Sons. * Cogger, Harold G. ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia''. Sydney, AH & AW Reed. Revised edition, 1983.

External links

Frog Australia NetworkIUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesAmphibian Research CentreWestern Australian Museum - list of frog call recordings
{{Oceania topic, List of amphibians of Amphibians Australia