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Frogs Of Australia
Amphibians of Australia are limited to members of the order List of Anuran families, Anura, commonly known as frogs. All Australian frogs are in the suborder Neobatrachia, also known as the modern frogs, which make up the largest proportion of extant frog species. About 230 of the 5,280 species of frog are native to Australia with 93% of them Endemic (ecology), endemic. Compared with other continents, species diversity is low, and may be related to the climate of most of the Australia (continent), Australian continent. There are two known invasive species, invasive amphibians, the cane toad and the smooth newt. Origins The Australian continent once formed part of the supercontinent Pangaea, which split into Gondwana and Laurasia approximately 180 million years ago. The earliest true frog fossil, ''Vieraella, Vieraella herbsti'', is dated between 188 and 213 million years old. This predates the splitting of Gondwana, and has resulted in frogs present on all continents. The first t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Litoria Phyllochroa
The leaf green tree frog (''Ranoidea phyllochroa'') is a species of stream-dwelling frog, native to eastern Australia from the Queensland/New South Wales border south to Sydney. Description This is a fairly small species of tree frog, up to about in length. It can be light green to dark olive green to light brown to dark brown on the dorsal surface. A pale golden stripe runs from the nostril, across the eye, over the typanum, and down the side, underlined by a dark brown stripe, which also goes over the typanum, not across it. The forelimbs, groin, and thighs are dark red. The toes are three-quarters webbed and toe discs are large. The belly is white. Ecology and behaviour This species inhabits flowing streams in rainforest, woodland, and wet or dry sclerophyll forest along the coast and ranges of New South Wales. Males make an "Erk..Ek..Ek..Derk" call from stream-side vegetation during spring, summer and autumn, especially on warm nights; they are often seen in suburban creeks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Australia, the giant barred frog (''Mixophyes iteratus''), at in length. The entire family is either terrestrial or aquatic frogs, with no arboreal species. Characteristics The family Myobatrachidae contains forms of parental care unique in the animal kingdom. The two species of gastric-brooding frog (genus: ''Rheobatrachus''), are found in this family. The females of these species swallow their young, where they develop until metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different .... The pouched frog (''Assa darlingtoni'') ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White's Tree Frog
The Australian green tree frog (''Ranoidea caerulea''/''Litoria 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 the United States and New Zealand, though the latter is believed to have died out. It is morphologically similar to some other members of its genus, particularly the magnificent tree frog (''R. splendida'') and the white-lipped tree frog (''R. infrafrenata''). Larger than most Australian frogs, the Australian green tree frog reaches 10 cm (4 in) or more in length. Its average lifespan in captivity, about 16 years, is long compared with most frogs. Docile and well suited to living near human dwellings, Australian green tree frogs are often found on window sills or inside houses, eating insects drawn by the light. The green tree frog screams when it is in danger to scare off its foe, and squeaks when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interglacials
An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene interglacial began at the end of the Pleistocene, about 11,700 years ago. Pleistocene During the 2.5 million years of the Pleistocene, numerous glacials, or significant advances of continental ice sheets, in North America and Europe, occurred at intervals of approximately 40,000 to 100,000 years. The long glacial periods were separated by more temperate and shorter interglacials. During interglacials, such as the present one, the climate warms and the tundra recedes polewards following the ice sheets. Forests return to areas that once supported tundra vegetation. Interglacials are identified on land or in shallow epicontinental seas by their paleontology. Floral and faunal remains of species pointing to temperate climate and indicating a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glacial Period
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate between glacial periods. The Last Glacial Period ended about 15,000 years ago. The Holocene is the current interglacial. A time with no glaciers on Earth is considered a Greenhouse and icehouse Earth, greenhouse climate state. Quaternary Period Within the Quaternary, which started about 2.6 million years before present, there have been a number of glacials and interglacials. At least eight glacial cycles have occurred in the last 740,000 years alone. Changes in atmospheric and associated radiative forcing were among the primary drivers of globally cold glacial and warm interglacial climates, with changes in ocean physical circulation, biological productivity and seawater acid-base chemistry likely causing most of the recorded changes Penul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Mainland Australia, Australia by the wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf, and were united during episodes of low sea level in the Pleistocene glaciations as the combined landmass of Sahul. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The island's name was given by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez during his maritime expedition of 1545 due to the perceived resemblance of the indigenous peoples of the island to those in the Guinea (region), African region of Guinea. The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the nation of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Pap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cladistics
Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to Taxonomy (biology), biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived (phylogenetics), derived characteristics (synapomorphies) that are not present in more distant groups and ancestors. However, from an empirical perspective, common ancestors are inferences based on a cladistic hypothesis of relationships of taxa whose Phenotypic trait, character states can be observed. Theoretically, a last common ancestor and all its descendants constitute a (minimal) clade. Importantly, all descendants stay in their overarching ancestral clade. For example, if the terms ''worms'' or ''fishes'' were used within a ''strict'' cladistic framework, these terms would include humans. Many of these terms are normally used Paraphyly, paraphyletically, outside of cladistics, e.g. as a 'E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooglossidae
Sooglossidae, the Seychelles frogs or Seychelles Island frogs, are a family of frogs found on the Seychelles Islands. Until recently, this family was believed to include the genera '' Sechellophryne'', '' Nesomantis'' and '' Sooglossus'', but following a major revision of amphibians in 2006, the genus ''Nesomantis'' was named a junior synonym of ''Sooglossus''. Their closest relatives are the purple frogs ( Nasikabatrachidae) of India. Description All Sooglossidae species are relatively small terrestrial frogs, about in length, hiding under fallen leaves or in rock crevices. They are unusual for the neobatrachials, in that they undertake inguinal amplexus, a primitive version of amplexus. They lay their eggs on moist ground, rather than in water. Several species lack tadpoles, with the eggs hatching directly into froglets. The tadpoles of '' S. sechellensis'' are carried, abnormally, on the backs of the female frogs until metamorphosis. There is no fossil record for the family. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divergent Evolution
Divergent evolution or divergent selection is the accumulation of differences between closely related populations within a species, sometimes leading to speciation. Divergent evolution is typically exhibited when two populations become separated by a geographic barrier (such as in allopatric or peripatric speciation) and experience different selective pressures that cause adaptations. After many generations and continual evolution, the populations become less able to interbreed with one another. The American naturalist J. T. Gulick (1832–1923) was the first to use the term "divergent evolution", with its use becoming widespread in modern evolutionary literature. Examples of divergence in nature are the adaptive radiation of the finches of the Galápagos, changes in mobbing behavior of the kittiwake, and the evolution of the modern-day dog from the wolf. The term can also be applied in molecular evolution, such as to proteins that derive from homologous genes. Both o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Immunology
Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders (such as Autoimmune disease, autoimmune diseases, Hypersensitivity, hypersensitivities, immune deficiency, and transplant rejection); and the physical, chemical, and physiological characteristics of the components of the immune system ''in vitro'', ''In situ#Biology and biomedical engineering, in situ'', and ''in vivo''. Immunology has applications in numerous disciplines of medicine, particularly in the fields of organ transplantation, oncology, rheumatology, virology, bacteriology, parasitology, psychiatry, and dermatology. The term was coined by Russian biologist Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, who advanced studies on immunology and received the Nob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllomedusa
''Phyllomedusa'' is a genus of tree frogs in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae found in tropical and subtropical South America (south to northern Argentina) and Panama. It has 16 recognised species. Taxonomy The following species are recognised in the genus ''Phyllomedusa'': * '' Phyllomedusa bahiana'' * '' Phyllomedusa bicolor'' - giant leaf frog * '' Phyllomedusa boliviana'' * '' Phyllomedusa burmeisteri'' - Burmeister's leaf frog * '' Phyllomedusa camba'' * '' Phyllomedusa chaparroi'' * '' Phyllomedusa coelestis'' * ''Phyllomedusa distincta'' * '' Phyllomedusa iheringii'' * '' Phyllomedusa neildi'' * '' Phyllomedusa sauvagii'' - waxy monkey leaf frog * '' Phyllomedusa tarsius''- tarsier leaf frog * '' Phyllomedusa tetraploidea'' * '' Phyllomedusa trinitatis'' * '' Phyllomedusa vaillantii'' - white-lined leaf frog * '' Phyllomedusa venusta'' Several other species formerly included in this genus are now placed in two other phyllomedusid genera: '' Callimedusa'' and '' Pithecopu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Litoria
''Litoria'' is a genus of Hylidae, hylid tree frogs, sometimes collectively referred to as Australasian treefrogs. Description The species within the genus ''Litoria'' are extremely variable in appearance, behaviour, and habitat. The smallest species is the javelin frog (''L. microbelos''), reaching a maximum snout–to–Cloaca, vent length of , while the largest, the giant tree frog (''L. infrafrenata''), reaches a size of . They are distinguishable from other tree frogs by the presence of horizontal irises, no pigmentation of the eyelids, and their distribution east and south from Wallacea. Over one hundred species are recognised and new species are still being added, such as the Pinocchio frog discovered in 2008 and described in 2019. Distribution and habitat The frogs are native to Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and the Moluccan Islands. The appearance, behaviour and habitat of each species are usually linked ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
