''Uperoleia'' is a genus of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

s 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 in ...

. They are native to northern and eastern Australia and southern lowlands of New Guinea. These are small squat frogs, more commonly known as "toadlets". They have glandular skin, often with a pair of raised glands behind each eye, or on the flanks. They have bumpy, rough skin giving them the appearance of a small toad, hence the name "toadlet", although they are often called "gungans" in Queensland. There are two distinct types of calls—''Uperoleia'' species make either a "click" or a "squelch". Generally, the "clicking" ''Uperoleia'' have long thin inguinal glands that run along the dorsal surface, while the "squelching" ''Uperoleia'' have round inguinal glands restricted to the posterior half of the dorsal surface. It is unusual to find more than one species of "clickers" or "squelchers" in the same location, although finding one of each is quite frequent in northern Australia. The species in this genus show great similarities in body shape and colouration making them difficult to tell apart. Call analysis is often required to confirm identification. This genus is the largest of any in the family Myobatrachidae. Clicking ''Uperoleia'' include ''U. glandulosa, U. aspera, U. minima, U. trachyderma, U. lithomoda, U. littlejohni, U. altissima, U. mimula,'' and ''U. rugosa''. The squelching ''Uperoleia'' include ''U. russelli, U. saxatilis, U. talpa, U. borealis, U. crassa'', and ''U. inundata''. The eastern species ''U. laevigata, U. fusca, U. tyleri,'' and ''U. martini'' are also squelchers, but are distantly related. The species ''U. mjobergi, U. micromeles, U. micra,'' and ''U. daviesae'' are distinct from these other groups.

Species

Following the

Amphibian Species of the World ''Amphibian Species of the World 6.2: An Online Reference'' (ASW) is a herpetology database. It lists the names of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians, which scientists first described each species and what year, and the animal's known range ...

, there are 29 species: Note that the AmphibiaWeb recognizes the small-headed toadlet (''Uperoleia capitulata'' ), a species that the Amphibian Species of the World, following Catullo and Keogh (2014), treats as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of the

wrinkled toadlet The wrinkled toadlet (''Uperoleia rugosa'') is a species of small, ground-dwelling frog in the family Myobatrachidae It is endemic to Australia. It is also commonly called the small-headed toadlet, red-groined toadlet or the chubby gungan. Desc ...

(''Uperoleia rugosa'').

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2452924 Myobatrachidae Amphibian genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray