The Black Mountain boulder frog (''Cophixalus saxatilis''), also known as the rock haunting frog or the Black Mountain rainforest frog, is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

. 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 else ...

to Australia, and its populations are now restricted to the

Kalkajaka National Park Kalkajaka National Park is a protected area in Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia.Accessed 24 February 2009 United Nations University's Media Studio's (2008) video brief including Kuku Nyunkal woman (Marilyn Wallace) visiting KalkajakaAccess ...

, Australia. Its original

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s were subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, rocky areas, and

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, now severely reduced to the "Black Mountains" 25 km south-west of

Cooktown, Queensland Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repair ...

.Environmental Protection Agency (Qld) "Black Mountain (Kalkajaka) National Park — Nature, culture and history"
24 February 2009

Description

The Queensland Environmental Protection Agency has described and summarized some of the distinctive features of this frog as follows:

References

Cophixalus Amphibians of Queensland Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1977 Frogs of Australia {{Microhylidae-stub

Description

See also

References