''Ranoidea mira'', also known as the chocolate frog, is a species of

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 relat ...

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. ...

, and is part of the ''Ranoidea caerulea''

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. It was discovered in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

by a research team led by

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian s ...

Taxonomy and systematics

It is likely that both the chocolate frog and the

Australian green 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 ...

were derived from a common ancestor when Australia and New Guinea were linked by land about 2.6 million years ago. It was named ''mira'' (meaning surprised or strange in Latin) because of the surprising nature of the discovery, and its chocolate-brown skin.

Description

''Ranoidea mira'' bears a close resemblance with the Australian green tree frog. They both look similar apart from their skin color. ''Ranoidea mira'' has a combination of webbing on hand, large size, limbs that are relatively short and robust as well as small violet patch of skin present on the edges of its eyes. It is a little smaller than the Australian green tree frog, at between 7 cm and 8 cm when fully mature.

Distribution and habitat

''Ranoidea mira'' is endemic to

References

Ranoidea Amphibians described in 2020 Amphibians of New Guinea {{Pelodryadinae-stub