The Cooloola sedge frog or Cooloola tree frog (''Litoria cooloolensis'') is a species 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 subfamily
Pelodryadinae
Pelodryadinae, also known as Australian treefrogs (although not all members are arboreal), is a subfamily of frogs found in the region of Australia and New Guinea, and have also been introduced to New Caledonia, Guam, New Zealand, and Vanuatu.
...
.
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 Australia and only known from
Fraser Fraser may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands
Australia
* Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen
* Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ele ...
and
North Stradbroke Island
North Stradbroke Island ( Jandai: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''Straddie'' or ''North Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, southeast of the centre of Brisbane. Originally there was onl ...
s, off south-eastern
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
, established_ ...
.
Habitat
It inhabits sandy coastal and island freshwater lakes and
wallum
Wallum, or wallum country, is an Australian ecosystem of coastal south-east Queensland, extending into north-eastern New South Wales. It is characterised by flora-rich shrubland and heathland on deep, nutrient-poor, acidic, sandy soils, and re ...
creeks, with a preference for dense reed beds. It is threatened by water extraction and pollution and by tramping of the reef beds. It occurs in the
Great Sandy National Park
Great Sandy National Park is a coastal national park in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.
Geography
The park features untouched beaches, large sand dunes, heathlands, rainforests, swamps, creeks, freshwater lakes and mangrove fores ...
.
Description
This amphibian's back is yellowish green, speckled with dark spots, and the hidden surfaces of its thighs are orange with a purple-brown stripe.
The belly is grainy and white in color.
''L. cooloolensis'', like other members of the genus Litoria, has horizontal irises.
Taxonomy
''Litoria'' ''cooloolensis'' is part of the species-group ''L. bicolor'', which was created to accommodate 7 species from the region that had characteristics in common.
The other members of the group are'':'' ''
Litoria fallax
The eastern dwarf tree frog (''Litoria fallax''), also known as the eastern sedge-frog, is a species of tree frog. It is a small and very common frog and found on the eastern coast of Australia, from around Cairns, Queensland, to around Ulladull ...
'' in Australia; ''
Litoria bicolor
The northern dwarf tree frog (''Litoria bicolor'') is a small species of tree frog native to northern Australia, from the Kimberly region of Western Australia to Bowen, Queensland, and Aru Islands of Indonesia.
These small frogs are also commo ...
'' in Austrália and Papua New Guine; ''
Litoria bibonius
''Litoria bibonius'' is a species of frog of the subfamily Pelodryadinae.
Distribution
This species is found in the D'Entrecasteaux, Normanby and Goodenough islands in Papua New Guinea.
Description
It can be distinguished from other lowl ...
,
Litoria contrastens
The Barabuna tree frog (''Litoria contrastens'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae.
It is endemic to Papua New Guinea.
Its natural habitats are swamps and rural gardens. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Taxonomy
''Litoria ...
'', ''
Litoria longicrus
The Wendessi tree frog (''Litoria longicrus'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae.
It is found in New Guinea.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and rivers.
Description
It has finger disks ...
'' and ''
Litoria mystax
The Moaif tree frog (''Litoria mystax'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae, endemic to West Papua, Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Taxonomy
''Litoria'' ''mystax'' is part of t ...
'' in Papua New Guine.
References
Litoria
Frogs of Australia
Endemic fauna of Australia
Amphibians of Queensland
Amphibians described in 1974
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Pelodryadinae-stub