| Mount Glorious day frog | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Myobatrachidae |
| Genus: | Taudactylus |
| Species: | †T. diurnus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Taudactylus diurnus Straughan & Lee, 1966 | |
The Mount Glorious day frog (Taudactylus diurnus), also known as Mount Glorious torrent frog and southern day frog, is an extinct species of frog native to south-east Queensland. It has not been recorded in the wild since 1979.
Mount Glorious day frogs varied in size, ranging from 22.0-30.6 mm in length. Males generally ranged from 22.0-27.2 mm long, while females were slightly larger, ranging from 23.3-30.6 mm. The dorsal skin had a grey or brown tone with dark spots or streaks, and was mostly smooth, with some granular texture. The abdominal skin was a creamy white or bluish-grey, with occasional grey spots. [2]
Closest living relatives of the Mount Glorious day frog are the Sharp snouted day frog (Taudactylus acutirostris), the Eungella torrent frog (Taudactylus eungellensis), the Eungella tinker frog (Taudactylus liemi), the Kroombit tinker frog (Taudactylus pleione), and the Northern tinker frog (Taudactylus rheophilus). [3]
Taudactylus diurnus is native to Australia, and was found in the Blackall, Conondale, and D’Aguilar Ranges. The species resided in the altitudinal range of 350 to 800 meters above sea level. The Mount Glorious day frog vanished from the D’Aguilar Range in 1975, followed by its disappearance from the Blackall Range in 1978 and lastly from the Conondale Range in early 1979. [4]
D’Aguilar Range, Conondale Range, and Kondalilla Falls still remain protected habitats within the Australian National Parks system, although no new evidence of the frog has been found. [2]
The species occupied montane rain forests, specifically in long-lasting and temporary streams on gravel, clay, sand and usually areas with rocky soil substrate. [1] It was also found in exposed areas, gorges, and dense wet areas with a lot of vegetation. [4]
The Mount Glorious day frog was most active during the day, becoming less and less active toward the evening. As it was found primarily along streams, it rarely moved far away from such wet environments, and it frequently had to enter the water. [3] [5] [ full citation needed ] This included swimming often or submerging itself in the water from time to time for rehydration. [3] At night, when the frogs were less active, they could be seen moving throughout cool rock crevices and staying in moist parts of their environment like under debris, along the water's edge, and around damp vegetation. [5] [ full citation needed ]
The species bred in warm weather after or during heavy rain from late October to May, with a January to March peak. The female deposited 24-36 eggs in gelatinous clumps under rocks or branches in the water; tadpoles could be found throughout the year. Males and females participated in amplexus mating behavior. [1]
The Mount Glorious day frog fed primarily on small invertebrates along the forest floor. [5] [ full citation needed ] These include flat-bodied crustaceans, winged insects, butterfly or moth larvae, and other small insects along streams. [3]
Taudactylus diurnus was first described by Australian zoologists Straughan and Lee in 1966. The frog was abundant in the south eastern Queensland in the early 1970s but then rapidly began to decline. [2] In a period of about 3 to 4 years, the frog was considered to be endangered, having disappeared from D’Aguilar Range around 1975 and Blackall Range around 1978. The species has not been spotted since approximately 1979. [1] In 1994, the Groombridge Scientific Journal declared the species to be endangered, which was followed up in 1996 with the IUCN Redlist declaring the species to be critically endangered. Efforts to relocate the species continued up until 2004, when the IUCN Redlist officially declared the species extinct due to a lack of evidence of their existence in the wild for roughly 25 years. [1]
One of the threats to the Mount Glorious day frog was the contamination of water with mud by feral pigs. Feral pigs made the water muddy making it difficult for the frogs to reproduce and develop. [5] In addition, feral pigs also preyed on the frogs. Changes in the flow of stream water, the spread of invasive species, and the spread of chytridiomycosis have also been implicated in the disappearance of the species. [1] A connection has been made between the frog's extinction and the presence of the invasive plant species Lantana camara and Ageratina riparia . [4]
Conondale National Park is 130 km north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland near the town of Conondale in the south east Queensland bioregion. The park covers an area of 35,648 hectares protecting large areas of subtropical rainforest, woodlands, wet and dry sclerophyll forest including Queensland's tallest tree. The park contains areas of regenerating forest which have been previously logged; areas of forest plantations also border the park. The park is currently managed by the Queensland Government under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.
Eungella National Park is a protected area in Queensland, Australia. It is on the Clarke Range at the end of the Pioneer Valley 80 km west of Mackay, and 858 km northwest of Brisbane. Eungella is noted for the national park which surrounds it. It is considered to be the longest continual stretch of sub-tropical rainforest in Australia. The original inhabitants are the Wirri people. The park is covered by dense rainforest and is known for its platypuses.
Threatened fauna of Australia are those species and subspecies of birds, fish, frogs, insects, mammals, molluscs, crustaceans and reptiles to be found in Australia that are in danger of becoming extinct. This list is the list proclaimed under the Australian federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The classifications are based on those used by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), however IUCN and Australian rankings do differ. Each state and territory has its own legislation relating to environmental protection.
Taudactylus is a genus of frogs in the family Myobatrachidae. These frogs are endemic to rainforest areas of coastal eastern Australia, most of this genus inhabit fast flowing streams in highland area. Most members of this genus have suffered serious declines, in which the disease chytridiomycosis appears to have played a significant role: T. diurnus is believed to be extinct, while all others except T. liemi are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. These listings are conservative, and it is likely T. acutirostris, presently listed as critically endangered, already is extinct.
Rheobatrachus, whose members are known as the gastric-brooding frogs or platypus frogs, is a genus of extinct ground-dwelling frogs native to Queensland in eastern Australia. The genus consisted of only two species, both of which became extinct in the mid-1980s. The genus is unique because it contains the only two known frog species that incubated the prejuvenile stages of their offspring in the stomach of the mother.
The armoured frog, or armoured mist frog, is a species of tree frog in the torrent frog complex, a group restricted to north-eastern Queensland, Australia.
Fleay's barred frog is a large species of frog restricted to small pockets of rainforest in northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, Australia.
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.
The Eungella torrent frog or Eungella day frog is a species of stream dwelling frog endemic to Australia. It is restricted to ranges west of Mackay in mid-eastern Queensland.
The common mist frog 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. The common mist frog is found in remote, mountainous areas, and near rocky, fast-flowing rainforest streams such as those in north-eastern Queensland, Australia. They are generally sedentary frogs, and remain in the stream environments that they are born into, preferring sections of the stream with riffles, many rocks, and overhanging vegetation.
The sharp snouted day frog, or sharp-nosed torrent frog, is an extant species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to upland rainforest streams in north-eastern Queensland in Australia.
The Eungella tinker frog, also known as Eungella tinkerfrog, Liem's frog, or Liem's tinker frog, is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to the Eungella area in Queensland, Australia. It lives in rocky margins of fast-flowing creeks and seepages in montane rainforest at elevations of 180–1,250 m (590–4,100 ft) above sea level, but it is more common above 600 m (2,000 ft). It is commonly heard but rarely seen. In contrast to other amphibians in the area, such as Taudactylus eungellensis, no adverse effects of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis have been reported on this species. It is currently facing no major threats, although its habitat could be impacted by grazing and trampling of streamside vegetation by livestock. Also invasive cane toads are a potential future threat. Its range is with the Eungella National Park.
The Kroombit tinker frog, also sometimes referred to as Pleione's torrent frog, is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to Central Queensland in Australia. It lives among rocks and leaf litter near small flowing streams.
The northern tinker frog, northern timber frog, or tinkling frog 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 rocks and logs at small fast-flowing streams. Adults are nocturnal.
Torrent frogs are a number of unrelated frogs that prefer to inhabit small rapid-flowing mountain or hill streams with a lot of torrents. They are generally smallish neobatrachians with a greyish-brown and usually darkly mottled back, giving them excellent camouflage among wet rocks overgrown with algae; their well-developed feet make them agile climbers of slippery rocks.
The Pyrenean frog or Pyrenees frog is a species of frogs in the family Ranidae found in the Pyrenees mountains of France and Spain. Its natural habitats are fast-moving mountain streams and their surroundings. The IUCN lists it as "endangered".
The Conondale Range is a mountain range in Queensland, located between Maleny, Kenilworth, Kilcoy and Jimna. The range is the most westerly part of the Sunshine Coast hinterland and part of the Great Dividing Range. The highest point on the range is Mount Langley reaching 868 m above sea level. This is also the highest point in the Brisbane River catchment.
