Litoria Longirostris
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''Litoria'' is a
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of hylid
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 suborder have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not clos ...
s, sometimes collectively referred to as Australasian treefrogs.


Description

The species within the genus ''Litoria'' are extremely variable in appearance, behaviour, and
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...
. The smallest species is the
javelin frog The javelin frog (''Litoria microbelos'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae, that is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in ...
(''L. microbelos''), reaching a maximum snout–to–
vent Vent or vents may refer to: Science and technology Biology *Vent, the cloaca region of an animal *Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase Geology *Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...
length of , while the largest, the
giant tree frog The white-lipped tree frog (''Nyctimystes infrafrenatus'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is the world's largest tree frog (the Cuban tree frog reaches a similar maximum size) and is found in Australia. Other common n ...
(''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 Wallacea is a biogeography, biogeographical designation for a group of mainly list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian islands separated by deep-water straits from the Asian and Australia (continent), Australian continental shelf, continental ...
. Over one hundred
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
are recognised and new species are still being added, such as the
Pinocchio frog The Pinocchio frog or northern Pinocchio treefrog (''Litoria pinocchio'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It was discovered in the Foja Mountains of Papua Province in Indonesia by Conservation International and the National ...
discovered in 2008 and described in 2019.Newscientist.com
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Distribution and habitat

The frogs are native to Australia, the
Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about . History The first inhabitants of the archipela ...
, the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
,
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 ...
, the
Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pro ...
, and the
Moluccan Islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesi ...
. The appearance, behaviour and habitat of each species are usually linked. The small, dark-coloured frogs are generally terrestrial and never, or infrequently, climb. The larger green species are usually arboreal, with some only venturing to the ground to breed.


Fossils

The oldest fossil of a frog of the ''Litoria'' genus is of †''
Litoria tylerantiqua ''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 s ...
'' Farman,
Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...
&
Hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...
, 2025
from the
Tingamarra fauna The Tingamarra Fauna is associated with the early Eocene Murgon fossil site, and contains the earliest known non-flying eutherian, passerine, trionychidae turtles, mekosuchine crocodiles along with frogs, lungfish and teleost fish in Australia. Th ...
of 55 million years ago. Indeterminate ''Litoria'' remains reminiscent of '' L. caerulea'' are known from the
Late Oligocene The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the pro ...
-aged
Etadunna Formation Etadunna may refer to: * Etadunna, South Australia, the gazetted locality named for the station * Etadunna Airstrip, an airfield in South Australia * Etadunna Formation, a geological formation found in Queensland - refer Baru ''Baru'', somet ...
of
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. The fossil species †''
Litoria magna ''Litoria'' is a genus of 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 i ...
'' Tyler, 1991 is known from the
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
of the
Riversleigh fauna Riversleigh fauna is the collective term for any species of animal identified in fossil sites located in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. Faunal zones The presence of the Riversleigh in the Oligo-Miocene has been exceptionally well preserve ...
.


Species

While some former species have been moved to the genera ''
Nyctimystes ''Nyctimystes'' is a genus of tree frogs in the subfamily Pelodryadinae of the family Hylidae. They are principally Papuan species, but also inhabit islands in the Moluccas. All species in this genus have one distinct feature that separates the ...
'' and ''
Ranoidea The Ranoidea are a Taxonomic rank, superfamily of frogs in the order Anura. Members of this superfamily are characterised by having the pectoral girdle fused into a single complex unit, having no ribs, and using an axillary grip during amplexus ...
'', the following are recognised within the genus ''Litoria'': * ''L. adelaidensis'' – slender tree frog * ''L. albolabris'' – Wandolleck's white-lipped tree frog * ''L. amboinensis'' – Horst's tree frog * '' L .amnicola'' – Raja Ampat torrent tree frog * ''L. angiana'' – Angiana tree frog * '' L. aplini'' * ''L. arfakiana'' – Arfakiana tree frog * ''L. aurifera'' –
Kimberley rockhole frog The Kimberley rockhole frog (''Litoria aurifera'') is a species of small treefrog that is endemic to Western Australia. The species epithet ''aurifera'' (‘gold-bearing’) refers to the colouring of the tadpoles. History The species was des ...
* ''L. axillaris'' – Kimberley rocket frog * ''L. azuroscelis'' –
Azure-thighed tree frog The azure-thighed tree frog (''Litoria azuroscelis''), azure-thighed treefrog or, in Indonesian, ''katak-pohon paha-biru'', is a species of tree frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae of the family Hylidae that is native to Western New Guinea. It wa ...
* '' L. balatus'' * ''L. becki'' – Beck's tree frog * '' L. biakensis'' * '' L. bibonius'' * ''L. bicolor'' – northern dwarf tree frog * ''L. bulmeri'' – Bulmer's tree frog * ''L. burrowsi'' –
Tasmanian tree frog The Tasmanian tree frog (''Litoria burrowsi''), also known as king tree frog, is a species of tree frog that is found on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It was first found by Myrtle Burrows in 1941, at Cradle Mountain and handed over to Sco ...
* ''L. capitula'' – Samlakki tree frog * '' L. chloristona'' * ''L. chloronota'' – Arfak Mountain tree frog * '' L. chrisdahli'' * '' L. christianbergmanni'' * ''L. congenita'' – Yule Island tree frog * ''L. contrastens'' – Barabuna tree frog * ''L. cooloolensis'' – Cooloola sedge frog, Cooloola tree frog * ''L. coplandi'' – Copland's rock frog * '' L. daraiensis'' – Darai Plateau tree frog * ''L. darlingtoni'' – Darlington's Madang tree frog * ''L. dentata'' –
bleating tree frog The bleating tree frog of Australia has been split into three distinct species: * Screaming tree frog (''Litoria quiritatus''), from northeastern Victoria to mid-coast New South Wales * Robust bleating tree frog (''Litoria dentata sensu stricto'' ...
, Keferstein's tree frog * ''L. dorsalis'' – dwarf rocket frog * ''L. dorsivena'' –
eastern mountains tree frog The eastern mountains tree frog (''Litoria dorsivena'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and river A river is ...
* ''L. electrica'' – buzzing tree frog * ''L. eungellensis'' – Eungella whirring tree frog * '' L. eurynastes'' * ''L. everetti'' – Everett's tree frog * ''L. ewingii'' – brown tree frog * ''L. fallax'' –
eastern dwarf tree frog 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 Ulladul ...
* '' L. flavescens'' * ''L. freycineti'' – Freycinet's frog * '' L. gasconi'' * '' L. gracilis'' – slender spotted tree frog * '' L. haematogaster'' – red-bellied tree frog * '' L. havina'' * '' L. hilli'' * '' L. humboldtorum'' * ''L. inermis'' – bumpy rocket frog * ''L. iris'' – Western Highland tree frog * ''L. jervisiensis'' – Jervis Bay tree frog * ''L. latopalmata'' – broad-palmed frog * ''L. leucova'' – West Sepik tree frog * '' L. lisae'' – Lisa's tree frog * ''L. littlejohni'' –
Littlejohn's tree frog Littlejohn's tree frog (''Litoria littlejohni''), also called a heath frog or orange-bellied tree frog, is a species of tree frog native to eastern Australia from Wyong, New South Wales, to Buchan, Victoria. Taxonomy In 2020, following a taxono ...
* '' L. lodesdema'' * ''L. longicrus'' –
Wendessi tree frog 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 ...
* ''L. longirostris'' – long-snouted frog, sharp-snouted frog, scrub rocket frog * '' L. majikthise'' * '' L. mareku'' * '' L. megalops'' * ''L. meiriana'' –
rockhole frog The rockhole frog (''Litoria meiriana'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae that is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, rivers, freshwater marshes, rocky areas, and caves. They a ...
* ''L. microbelos'' –
javelin frog The javelin frog (''Litoria microbelos'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae, that is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in ...
* ''L. micromembrana'' – Nodugl tree frog * ''L. modica'' – Oruge tree frog * '' L. mucro'' * ''L. multiplica'' – Kassam tree frog * ''L. mystax'' – Moaif tree frog * '' L. naispela'' – Crater Mountain treehole frog * ''L. nasuta'' – striped rocket frog * ''L. nigrofrenata'' – bridled frog * ''L. nigropunctata'' – black-dotted tree frog * ''L. oenicolen'' – Trauna River tree frog * '' L. ollauro'' * ''L. olongburensis'' –
wallum sedge frog The wallum sedge frog (''Litoria olongburensis''), also known as the Olongburra frog or the sharp-snouted reed frog, is a species of frog that is endemic to Australia. Varying in color from brown to dark green it inhabits the thick and often acid ...
, Olongburra frog, sharp-snouted reed frog * ''L. pallida'' – pale frog * ''L. paraewingi'' – plains brown tree frog (also red cryptic treefrog, Victoria frog) * ''L. peronii'' –
Peron's tree frog Peron's tree frog (''Litoria peronii''), also known as the emerald-spotted tree frog, emerald-speckled tree frog, laughing tree frog, and maniacal cackle frog, is species of tree frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae Pelodryadinae, also known ...
, emerald-speckled tree frog, laughing tree frog, maniacal cackle frog * ''L. personata'' –
masked frog The masked frog or masked rock frog (''Litoria personata'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae, Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry lowland gr ...
* ''L. pinocchio'' –
Pinocchio frog The Pinocchio frog or northern Pinocchio treefrog (''Litoria pinocchio'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It was discovered in the Foja Mountains of Papua Province in Indonesia by Conservation International and the National ...
* ''L. pratti'' * '' L. pronimia'' * ''L. prora'' – Efogi tree frog * ''L. pygmaea'' – Geelvink pygmy tree frog * ''L. quadrilineata'' – lined tree frog * ''L. quiritatus'' – screaming tree frog * ''L. revelata'' – revealed frog, whirring tree frog * '' L. richardsi'' * '' L. rivicola'' * ''L. rothii'' – Roth's tree frog * ''L. rubella'' – desert tree frog * '' L. rubrops'' * '' L. scabra'' * '' L. singadanae'' * '' L. spaldingi'' * '' L. spartacus'' * ''L. staccato'' – chattering rock frog * ''L. timida'' –
Menemsorae tree frog The Menemsorae tree frog (''Litoria timida'') is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae, found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the ...
* ''L. tornieri'' – Tornier's frog * ''L. tyleri'' – Tyler's tree frog, southern laughing tree frog * ''L. umarensis'' – Umar tree frog * ''L. umbonata'' – Baliem River Valley tree frog * ''L. verae'' – Vera's tree frog * ''L. verreauxii'' – whistling tree frog, Verreaux's tree frog * '' L. viranula'' * ''L. vivissimia'' – montane Pinocchio frog'' * ''L. vocivincens'' – Brown River tree frog * '' L. wapogaensis'' * ''L. watjulumensis'' – Watjulum frog * ''L. watsoni'' – Watson's tree frog * ''L. wisselensis'' – Wissel Lakes tree frog * ''L. wollastoni'' – highland tree frog


References


Bibliography

*Frogs of Australia
Litoria genus
Amphibian Research Centre. * Frogs Australia Networ
search: Litoria
*Cogger, H.G. 1979. ''Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia''. A. H. & A. W. REED PTY LTD * Tyler, Michael J. 1992. ''Encyclopedia of Australian Animals: Frogs''. Angus & Robertson. {{Authority control Amphibian genera Taxa named by Johann Jakob von Tschudi