''Metacrinia'' is a genus of
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
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 ...
. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species, ''Metacrinia nichollsi'', commonly known as the Forest toadlet or Nicholls toadlet.
It is
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 elsew ...
to
Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna.
The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...
, occurring between
Dunsborough and
Albany.
Description
''Metacrinia nichollsi'' is a squat frog with short limbs and reaches in length. The dorsal colouration is very dark brown or black occasionally with pink flecks. The ventral surface is grey, dark blue or black with white marbling. There are yellow or orange markings at the base of each arm and on the underside of the thighs and lower belly. The skin on the dorsum is warty and the belly is granular. The
tympanum is visible and the fingers and toes are free of webbing.
It is the
only described species in the genus ''Metacrinia''. The toadlet is poorly studied, but the diverse appearance of the toadlet suggests there may be more than one species.
Ecology and behaviour
This species is found amongst leaf litter, under stones and logs in
karri
''Eucalyptus diversicolor'', commonly known as karri, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall tree with smooth light grey to cre ...
and
jarrah
''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with roug ...
forests. Breeding occurs in late summer with most activity after rain. The males make a short "ark" similar to that of species in the genus ''
Pseudophryne
''Pseudophryne'' is a genus of small myobatrachid frogs. All of these frogs are small terrestrial frogs, and as such, most species are commonly called toadlets (''pseudo-'' meaning deceptive, ''phryne'' meaning toad). The genus comprises thirtee ...
''.
25–30 eggs are laid in damp ground cover where they develop directly without a larval stage. The species was assessed as
Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
in 2004.
Similar species
''Metacrinia'' may be confused with
Günther's toadlet, ''Pseudophryne guentheri''. It can be distinguished by the orange ventral markings.
References
Further reading
*Barker, J.; Grigg, G. C.; Tyler, M. J. (1995). A Field Guide to Australian Frogs. Surrey Beatty & Sons.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1651416
Myobatrachidae
Amphibians of Western Australia
Monotypic amphibian genera
Taxa named by Hampton Wildman Parker
Frogs of Australia
Endemic fauna of Southwest Australia