''Anstisia alba'', commonly known as the white-bellied frog, is a small frog 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 ...

. It occupies an area near Margaret River in swampy depressions adjoining creeks. Threats from altered ecology have made this a critically endangered species of south-western Australia.

Taxonomy

It was formerly classified in the genus '' Geocrinia'', but was reclassified into the new genus '' Anstisia'' in 2022.

Description

''G. alba'' is very similar in appearance to the

orange-bellied frog ''Anstisia vitellina'', commonly known as the orange-bellied frog, is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to a 20 hectare area near Margaret River, Western Australia, Margaret River in Southwest Australia. It is Vulnerab ...

(''A. vitellina''); having spots of dark brown on a light brown or grey back and a snout-vent length of 17–24 mm. The underparts, however, are white. It is part of the Geocrinia rosea frog complex.

Environment and ecology

The species occupies an area of 193 ha, across a range of 101 km² around the Witchcliffe- Karridale area of

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 ...

. This narrow range is confined to swampy areas near

creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

lines. 56 sites have been found in research conducted by the Sch. Animal Biology ( UWA). The species resides and breeds in small depressions under dense vegetation giving a discrete series of 11–18 barely resolvable pulses. Unusually for frog species ''G. alba'' has little migratory behaviour and reinvasion of disturbed habitat is not recorded.

Threatened status

Altered ecology and changing land use have led to a status of 'critically endangered' of extinction. Populations occur on 'private property', exposing the habitat to cattle grazing and—since the 1990s—viticulture and eucalypt plantations. Threats such as fire and cattle can degrade vegetation surrounding the frog's habitat; damming and land clearing for viticulture or planting of introduced tree species alters the hydrology. Research has been undertaken by UWA and CALM. Funding has been allocated to provide fencing to land owners and a reserve connecting the Forest Grove and

Blackwood River The Blackwood River is a major river and catchment in the South West of Western Australia. Course The river begins at the junction of Arthur River and Balgarup River near Quelarup and travels in a south westerly direction through the town ...

National Parks to assist the protection of the riparian habitat.

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q921297 Anstisia Amphibians of Western Australia Critically endangered fauna of Australia Amphibians described in 1989 Frogs of Australia Endemic fauna of Southwest Australia Warren bioregion