The southern stuttering frog (''Mixophyes australis'') is a large species of frog

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to south-eastern Australia. It is found in mid-eastern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and at least formerly

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, where it ranges from Carrai National Park south to

East Gippsland East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia covering (14%) of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It has a population of 80,114. Australian Bureau of Statistics2006 Census Community Profile Series: Ea ...

. It inhabits

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

and

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

, wet

sclerophyll forest Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

, and moist gullies in dry forests. Long considered to comprise southern populations of the

stuttering frog The stuttering frog (''Mixophyes balbus'') is a large species of frog that inhabits temperate and sub-tropical rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in Australia. Distribution Until 2023, this species was thought conspecific with the southern s ...

(''M. balbus''), it was not recognised as a new species until 2023, when a phylogenetic study found it to be deeply divergent from ''M. balbus'' and thus described it as a new species. The distributions of the northern and southern stuttering frogs are separated by the

Macleay River The Macleay River is a river that spans the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Formed by the confluence of the Gara River, Salisbury Waters and Bakers Creek, the Macleay River ...

. This species has disappeared from two-thirds of its distribution, and thus qualifies for

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

. Populations south of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

have declined dramatically and the Victorian populations are believed to be extinct, although northern populations are thought to be stable. Unlike ''M. balbus'', which is a high-altitude specialist, both upland and lowland populations of ''M. australis'' have been recorded.

References

* Barker, J.; Grigg, G.C.; Tyler, M.J. (1995). ''A Field Guide to Australian Frogs''. Surrey Beatty & Sons. {{Taxonbar, from=Q121367687 Amphibians of New South Wales Amphibians of Victoria (state) Mixophyes Amphibians described in 2023 Frogs of Australia