Litoria mira

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Litoria mira
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Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hylidae
Genus: Litoria
Species:
L. mira
Binomial name
Litoria mira
Oliver, Rittmeyer, Torkkola, Donnellan, Dahl & Richards 2020

Chocolate frog (Litoria mira) is a tree frog belonging to the genus Litoria , and is part of the Litoria caerulea species complex. [1] It was discovered in New Guinea by a research team led by Griffith University. [2] [3] [4] It was named mira (meaning surprised or strange in Latin) because of the surprising nature of the discovery, its chocolate-brown skin. [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Characteristics

It is noted that Litoria Mira bears resemblance with common green frog of Australia known as Litoriacerulean .They both look similar apart from their skin color. Litoria Mira can be differentiated from all other Litoria due to its unique combination of webbing on hand, large size, limbs that are relatively short and robust as well as small violet patch of skin present on the edges of his eyes. It is likely that both the chocolate frog and Australia green frog was linked by land about 2.6 million years and share a biotic element. [8] [9] These amphibians, known for their jumping abilities and croaking sounds, live all over the world and are among the most diverse animals, with over 6,000 species. [10] It is a little smaller than the Australian green tree frog, at between 7 cm and 8 cm when fully mature. [3] [11] [12] It has been compared to the chocolate frog in the Harry Potter books. [8]

Distribution

Litoria mira is endemic to New Guinea. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Litoria</i> Genus of amphibians

Litoria is a genus of hylid tree frogs native to Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and the Moluccan Islands. It is the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Litoriinae and are sometimes collectively referred to as Australasian treefrogs. 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 90 species are described, but several new species are described every year on average, such as the Pinocchio frog, discovered in 2008 and described in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green and golden bell frog</span> Species of amphibian

The green and golden bell frog, also named the green bell frog, green and golden swamp frog and green frog, is a ground-dwelling tree frog native to eastern Australia. Despite its classification and climbing abilities, it does not live in trees and spends almost all of its time close to ground level. It can reach up to 11 cm (4.5 in) in length, making it one of Australia's largest frogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern dwarf tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The eastern dwarf tree frog, also known as the eastern sedge-frog, is a small and very common tree frog found on the eastern coast of Australia, from around Cairns, Queensland, to around Ulladulla, New South Wales. Individual frogs of this species are often found elsewhere, having been accidentally relocated by transported fruit boxes. Confirmed sightings of breeding pairs have confirmed their survival in Victoria's cooler climate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian green tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Australian green tree frog, 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).

Green tree frog is a common name for several different tree frog species:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-lipped tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The white-lipped tree frog is found in Australia and is the world's largest tree frog. Other common names include the New Guinea treefrog, giant tree frog, and Australian giant treefrog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler's tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

Tyler's tree frog or the southern laughing tree frog is an arboreal tree frog. It is native to eastern Australia. It occurs from southeast Queensland to the south coast of New South Wales. It is generally a coastal species and is not found inland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Growling grass frog</span> Species of amphibian

The growling grass frog, also commonly known as the southern bell frog, warty swamp frog and erroneously as the green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to southeastern Australia, ranging from southern South Australia along the Murray River though Victoria to New South Wales, with populations through Tasmania. This species' common names vary between states; the name southern bell frog applies to New South Wales, growling grass frog in Victoria and South Australia, and green and gold frog in Tasmania. This species has been introduced to New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jervis Bay tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Jervis Bay tree frog, also known as the curry frog in reference to its odour, is a species of Australian frog associated with wallum swampland along the east coast of New South Wales; ranging from the Queensland border to eastern Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striped rocket frog</span> Species of amphibian

The striped rocket frog, or in its native range known as the rocket frog, occurs mostly in coastal areas from northern Western Australia to around Gosford in New South Wales at its southernmost point, with a disjunct population occurring further south at the Sydney suburb of Avalon. It also inhabits the southern lowlands and south east peninsula of Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amphibians of Australia</span>

Amphibians of Australia are limited to members of the order 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. Compared with other continents, species diversity is low, and may be related to the climate of most of the Australian continent. There are two known invasive amphibians, the cane toad and the smooth newt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roth's tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

Roth's tree frog or the northern laughing tree frog is a tree frog native to northern Australia and southern Papua New Guinea. Roth's tree frog is a common frog, closely related to Peron's tree frog and Tyler's tree frog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The desert tree frog or little red tree frog is a tree frog native to Australia, southern New Guinea, and Timor. It is one of Australia's most widely distributed frogs, inhabiting northern Australia, including desert regions and much of temperate eastern Australia. It is one of the few Australian tree frogs to inhabit arid, tropical, and temperate climates.

Beck's tree frog is a species of frogs in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are tropical moist montane forests, grasslands and streams. It was first described by the British biologist and herpetologist Arthur Loveridge in 1945 and is named in honour of the American ornithologist and explorer Rollo Beck who led the Whitney South Seas Expedition in the 1920s, collecting bird and other specimens from thousands of islands in the South Pacific.

Litoriacastanea, also known as the yellow-spotted tree frog, New England swamp frog, tablelands bell frog, or yellow-spotted bell frog is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is a critically endangered species of frog that is endemic to southeastern Australia, found in the New England Tablelands bioregion. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and ponds.

The Cooloola sedge frog or Cooloola tree frog is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and coastal freshwater lagoons. It is threatened by habitat loss. Cooloola Tree Frogs only live in Australia and their lack of distribution adds to their endangerment. They mostly feed on bugs in their area; flies, spiders, moths, etc. Their green skin helps camouflage them because of their very green and wet habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-eyed treefrog</span> Species of amphibian

The green-eyed treefrog is a species of Australasian treefrog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae that occurs in the Wet Tropics of Australia.

The parachuting frog or pale-eyed parachuting tree frog is a frog from the island of New Guinea. It is in the Nyctimystes gramineus complex with the Pinocchio frog and montane Pinocchio frog.

The montane Pinocchio frog is a frog from the island of New Guinea. Scientists saw it on Hides Ridge in the karstic area of the Southern Fold Mountains in Papua New Guinea. Like the Pinocchio frog, it has a protuberance on its snout that can grow or shrink.

Mareku's tree frog is a frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Indonesia. Scientists have seen it in the Wondiwoi Mountains in Papua Province.

References

  1. Hutchins, Colin. "A new chocolate frog reveals ancient links between Australia & New Guinea". news.griffith.edu.au. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 Oliver, Paul M.; Rittmeyer, Eric N.; Torkkola, Janne; Donnellan, Stephen C.; Dahl, Chris; Richards, Stephen J. (2020). "Multiple trans-Torres Strait colonisations by tree frogs in the Litoria caerulea group, with the description of a new species from New Guinea". Australian Journal of Zoology. 68 (1): 25. doi:10.1071/ZO20071. hdl: 10072/404938 . ISSN   0004-959X. S2CID   235258302.
  3. 1 2 "Australian scientist discovers 'chocolate frog' in New Guinea swamps". The Guardian . 28 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Anderson, Natali (28 May 2021). "New Frog Species from New Guinea Has 'Lovely Chocolate Coloring'". Sci-News. Retrieved 29 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Woodyatt, Amy (29 May 2021). "Scientists discover new 'chocolate frog' in swamp". CNN . Retrieved 29 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Nath, Dipanita. "2 June 2021". Indian express . Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  7. "Adorable New Chocolate Frog Species Discovered, But You Definitely Shouldn't Eat It". IFLScience. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Litoria Mira real life version of chocolate frog found all you need to know about it". The Financial Express . 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  9. Amy Woodyatt. "Scientists discover new 'chocolate frog' in swamp". CNN. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  10. "Australian Researchers Discover Adorable New 'Chocolate Frog' Species". NDTV Gadgets 360. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  11. "Meet 'chocolate frog': This newly discovered species is straight out of Harry Potter world". India Today. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  12. "New (And Very Cute) 'Chocolate Frog' Species Identified By Scientists". HuffPost. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.