The armoured frog (''Ranoidea lorica''), or armoured mist frog, is a species of tree frog in the torrent frog complex, a group restricted to north-eastern Queensland, Australia.

Taxonomy

The armoured mist frog is one of the four species of Australian torrent treefrogs that comprise the '' Ranoidea nannotis'' species group. The other species are the mountain mist frog, waterfall frog, and

common mist frog The common mist frog (''Ranoidea rheocola'') is a species of tree frog native to north-eastern Queensland, Australia. It is a medium-sized frog and a member of the Australian torrent treefrog group.Cunningham, M. (n.d.). Memoirs of the Queenslan ...

Description

''R. lorica'' is a small tree frog, growing up to in length. It is grey or grey-brown on the dorsal surface and white on the ventral surface. The skin is tubercular on the dorsal surface, prominently on the eyelids and around the tympanum. Fingers are half webbed and toes are fully webbed, both having well-developed discs. The tympanum is small and indistinct, and a vocal sac is not present. Males have black, spiny

nuptial pad A nuptial pad (also known as thumb pad, or nuptial excrescence) is a secondary sex characteristic present on some mature male frogs and salamanders. Triggered by androgen hormones, this breeding gland (a type of mucous gland) appears as a sp ...

s on their thumbs and "accessory spines" on their chests. These spines are used in amplexus by the males to attain a better grip on the females.

Distribution

This species was first discovered in 1976 and is known from four localities: Alexandra Creek, Hilda Creek (

Cape Tribulation Cape Tribulation is a headland and coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas in northern Queensland, Australia. In the , Cape Tribulation had a population of 118 people. Geography The locality is north of Cairns. It is within the Daintree Na ...

NP), Roaring Meg Cascades, and Mossman Bluff Creek ( Daintree NP), north-eastern Queensland—between in altitude—and the historical extent of the species only was . Despite once being relatively common, the armoured frog has fallen into rapid decline, and was not seen from 1991 until 2008, when a small population was rediscovered and confirmed to be of this species.'Extinct' Frogs Survive Devastating Fungus
CNN (2008-09-11)

Behaviour and ecology

This species is associated with fast-flowing creeks and

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s in rainforests in northern Queensland. The call for this species is unknown, but is likely to be similar to that of the closely related waterfall frog, (''Litoria nannotis''). Tadpoles of this species are undescribed, although they would theoretically look similar to those of ''L. nannotis''–with a large oral disc and a streamlined body, an adaptation to fast-flowing streams.

Conservation status

This species, along with ''

Taudactylus rheophilus The northern tinker frog, northern timber frog, or tinkling frog (''Taudactylus rheophilus'') is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to humid mountainous areas of north-eastern Queensland in Australia. It lives among ro ...

'', ''

Taudactylus acutirostris The sharp snouted day frog (''Taudactylus acutirostris''), or sharp-nosed torrent frog, is an extant species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae Myobatrachidae, commonly known as Australian ground frogs or Australian water frogs, is a family ...

'', and some closely related species (including ''Litoria nannotis'', ''

Litoria nyakalensis The mountain mist frog or Nyakala frog (''Ranoidea nyakalensis'') was a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae, Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats were subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and rivers. It was thr ...

'', and ''

Litoria rheocola The common mist frog (''Ranoidea rheocola'') is a species of tree frog native to north-eastern Queensland, Australia. It is a medium-sized frog and a member of the Australian torrent treefrog group.Cunningham, M. (n.d.). Memoirs of the Queenslan ...

'') have also declined in flowing creeks in highland

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s in the same general area inhabited by ''L. lorica'' around the early 1990s. The reason for decline of these species is not known, but the disease caused by

chytrid Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoöspores. Chytrid ...

fungus may be a factor. The relocated population was found to be infected with the fungus, but seems to have acquired some degree of resistance. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and as Endangered under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992.

References

External links

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Litoria lorica
at CalPhotos {{Taxonbar, from=Q307249 Ranoidea (genus) Amphibians of Queensland Critically endangered fauna of Australia Nature Conservation Act endangered biota Amphibians described in 1979 Frogs of Australia