The Pinocchio frog or northern Pinocchio treefrog (''Litoria pinocchio'') 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 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. ...

. It was discovered in the Foja Mountains of

Papua Province Papua is a province of Indonesia, comprising the northern coast of Western New Guinea together with island groups in Cenderawasih Bay to the west. It roughly follows the borders of Papuan customary region of Tabi Saireri. It is bordered by ...

in Indonesia by

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The or ...

and the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, ...

during a 2008 expedition, where it was accidentally spotted by Paul Oliver, a

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning " reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and r ...

. Despite being discovered in 2008, it remained undescribed and was long known simply as the "Pinocchio frog" (with no given scientific name) until 2019, when it was finally described as ''Litoria pinocchio''. The frog is named for its

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

-like nose, which can enlarge and inflate in certain situations. Although unusual, a similar nose is found in several other related frogs from New Guinea, including '' L. chrisdahli'', '' L. havina'', '' L. mareku'', '' L. mucro'', '' L. pronimia'' and '' L. prora''.

Ecology and behavior

As a part of the subfamily

, the Pinocchio frog's diet consists primarily of insects. They are also found high above ground, according to Paul Oliver. He believes this because when he spotted the frog, he did not see any more so he supposed they were up in the trees. The male Pinocchio frog inflates its nose when calling, and the nose decreases in size when the frog is calm and quiet.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q64491366 Litoria Amphibians described in 2019 Amphibians of Western New Guinea