The Kimberley rockhole frog (''Litoria aurifera'') is a species of small treefrog that 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 else ...
to
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 ...
.
History
The species was described in 2010 following the discovery by botanists Matt and Russell Barrett of its distinctive 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 ...
s in shallow water near the Prince Regent River
The Prince Regent River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The headwaters of the river rise in the Caroline Range near Mount Agnes then flow in a north westerly direction. The river enters and flows through the Prince R ...
in the tropical Kimberley region
The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts ...
of north-west Australia.
Description
The species is similar in appearance to the common rockhole frog
The rockhole frog (''Litoria meiriana'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae that is endemic to Australia.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, rivers, freshwater marshes, rocky areas, and caves. They a ...
(''Litoria meiriana''). It grows up to 22 mm long, and has small limbs with fully webbed toes. The tadpoles have black bodies with gold patches on the snout and back. The metamorphs are about 11 mm long.
Distribution and habitat
The frog has a restricted range in rugged sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
country, from Walcott Inlet
Walcott Inlet is an estuary located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It flows into Collier Bay, in the Indian Ocean, via a narrow gap known as Yule Entrance.
The inlet was named on 19 June 1865 by Trevarton Charles Sholl after ...
to the Prince Regent National Park
Prince Regent National Park, formerly the Prince Regent Nature Reserve, is a protected area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In 1978 the area was nominated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
Land
The national park covers a to ...
, where it occurs in rocky waterholes and creeks.
References
Litoria
Endemic fauna of Australia
Frogs of Australia
Amphibians of Western Australia
Amphibians described in 2010
Taxa named by Paul Doughty
Taxa named by Michael J. Tyler
{{Pelodryadinae-stub