Striped burrowing frog

Last updated

Striped burrowing frog
Cyclorana alboguttata.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Pelodryadidae
Genus: Ranoidea
Species:
R. alboguttata
Binomial name
Ranoidea alboguttata
(Günther, 1867)
Cyclorana alboguttata distrib.png
Range of the striped burrowing frog
Synonyms [2]
  • Chiroleptes alboguttatus Günther, 1867
  • Cyclorana alboguttatus (Günther, 1867)
  • Litoria alboguttata (Günther, 1867)
  • Brendanura alboguttata (Günther, 1867)
  • Dryopsophus alboguttatus (Günther, 1867)

The striped burrowing frog (Ranoidea alboguttata) is a species of burrowing frog in the family Pelodryadidae (also treated as the subfamily Pelodryadinae in the family Hylidae). It occurs throughout much of Australia, from northern New South Wales, through eastern and northern Queensland and into eastern Northern Territory. This species was once included in the genus Litoria or Cyclorana.

Contents

Description

The female of this species grows up to 85 millimetres (3.3 in) in length and the male can reach an adult length of 70 millimetres (2.8 in). [3] It is brown, olive or green dorsally, with darker blotches. There is usually a pale yellow or yellow-green stripe down the back, and a dark streak runs from the snout, through the eye and the tympanum, breaking up down the flanks. This stripe has lateral skin fold above it. The backs of the thighs are dark, almost black, with large white, with some flecks brown on the throat and chest. The skin of the back has scattered warts and ridges. The belly is granular, but the throat and chest are smooth. The toes are half webbed. The tympanum is distinct.

Ecology and behaviour

R. alboguttata lives in woodlands, grassy and cleared areas. It is usually only seen around temporary pools and water-filled claypans. The species is active by day and night. This frog is known to go through a period of torpor when resources are scant. University of Queensland researchers have discovered that their cell metabolism changes during a dormancy period, allowing the frogs to maximize the use of their limited energy resources without depleting them completely. [4] This discovery could prove to have important medical applications, particularly regarding obesity.

Reproduction

Males call from around the grassy edges of temporary pools and ditches. They are often heard by day, and usually seen only after heavy summer rain. The call is a rapid "quacking" made from the ground or shallow water and eggs are laid in clumps near the waters edge.

See also

This species may be confused with Ranoidea australis but can be distinguished by the lateral skin folds on either side of the dorsal surface.

Related Research Articles

Bleating tree frog Species of amphibian

The bleating tree frog, also known as Keferstein's tree frog, is a tree frog in the family Pelodryadidae. This frog is native to coastal eastern Australia, from south-eastern Queensland, to around Eden, New South Wales.

Blue Mountains tree frog Species of amphibian

The Blue Mountains tree frog also called the Variegated River Tree Frog is a species of tree frog in the family Pelodryadinae. It is endemic to southeastern Australia and is found in eastern Victoria and in southeastern New South Wales. The Jenolan Caves tree frog, a population formerly separated as Litoria jenolanensis, is nowadays included in this species.

Leaf green tree frog Species of amphibian

The leaf green tree frog is a species of stream-dwelling frog, native to eastern Australia from the Queensland/New South Wales border south to Sydney.

Southern brown tree frog Species of amphibian

The southern brown tree frog, also known as the brown tree frog, whistling tree frog, or Ewing's tree frog, is a species of tree frog native to Australia: most of southern Victoria, eastern South Australia, southern New South Wales from about Ulladulla—although this species is reported to occur further north—and throughout Tasmania including the Bass Strait Islands, in which state it is the most frequently encountered frog. It has been introduced to New Zealand, where it can be locally abundant.

Mountain stream tree frog Species of amphibian

The mountain stream tree frog is a species of tree frog native to highland areas of NSW, Australia stretching from the Myall Lakes area, north to around Dorrigo National Park and west to Barrington Tops National Park.

Dainty green tree frog Species of amphibian

The dainty green tree frog, also known as the graceful tree frog, is a tree frog native to eastern Queensland, and north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It ranges from northern Cape York in Queensland to Gosford in New South Wales, with a small and most likely introduced population in Hornsby Heights in Sydney. It is the faunal emblem of the City of Brisbane.

Striped rocket frog 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.

Armoured frog Species of amphibian

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.

Australian lace-lid Species of amphibian

The Australian lace-lid is a tree frog endemic to the wet tropics of north-eastern Queensland, Australia.

<i>Ranoidea australis</i> Species of amphibian

Ranoidea australis, commonly known as the giant frog, northern snapping frog, or round frog, is a burrowing species native to Australia. It occurs from western Queensland through to northern Western Australia.

Green-thighed frog Species of amphibian

The green-thighed frog is a medium-sized species of ground-dwelling tree frog in Australia.

New Holland frog Species of amphibian

The New Holland frog, also known as wide-mouthed frog, is a large species of burrowing frog native to northern New South Wales and the eastern three-quarters of Queensland, Australia.

Short-footed frog Species of amphibian

The short-footed frog is a small, burrowing frog native to eastern Queensland, Australia.

Rough frog Species of amphibian

Ranoidea verrucosa,, is an amphibian native to northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, Australia. It is also classified under the genus of Cyclorana and Litoria and also known as the Warty Water-holding Frog.

Waterfall frog Species of amphibian

The Australian waterfall frog or torrent treefrog is a species of tree frog native to Far North Queensland, Australia. The common name "waterfall frog" is indicative of its habitat of moist, rocky streams, and is often found along waterfalls within its range.

Ranoidea vagitus, the wailing frog, is a tree frog occupying the arid and monsoonal Kimberley region. It is a ground dweller, which evades dry periods by burrowing and hibernating - emerging to breed during floods.

Knife-footed frog Species of amphibian

The knife-footed frog or grassland collared frog is a burrowing frog species of the Hylidae family. It is endemic to Australia, where it is found over a wide area in the north-east of the continent.

Mains frog Species of amphibian

The Main's frog is a species of frog in the family Pelodryadidae. It is endemic to Western and Central Australia.

Ranoidea brongersmai is a species of frog in the family Pelodryadidae. It is endemic to New Guinea and known from its type locality in the Snow Mountains, and according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, from another location in the Wapoga River headwaters some 100 km further west. Both sites are in Western New Guinea (Indonesia). Its range is probably broader than current knowledge suggests. The specific name brongersmai honours Leo Brongersma, a Dutch author and zoologist. Accordingly, common name Brongersma's treefrog has been proposed for it.

<i>Ranoidea wilcoxii</i> Species of amphibian

Ranoidea wilcoxii is a species of frog in the family Pelodryadidae. Also known as the stony-creek frog, eastern stony creek frog, and Wilcox's frog, it is endemic to Australia, being found solely on the eastern coast between Ingham, QLD, and Sydney, NSW, and as far west as Atherton, QLD. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, and pastureland.

References

  1. Hero, Jean-Marc; John Clarke; Ed Meyer; Richard Retallick & Paul Horner (2004). "Litoria alboguttata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2004: e.T41066A10383389. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2020). "Ranoidea alboguttata (Günther, 1867)". Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.1. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001 . Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. Wildlife of Greater Brisbane. Brisbane: Queensland Museum. 2007. p. 221. ISBN   978-0-9775943-1-3.
  4. Society for Experimental Biology (2009, June 29). C. alboguttata has been noted to secrete highly acidic mucus as defence mechanism often causing terminal injury to predator. Obesity Clues From Research On How Burrowing Frogs Survive Years Without Food. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 1, 2009, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629081133.htm

Wikispecies-logo.svg Data related to Cyclorana alboguttata at Wikispecies Commons-logo.svg Media related to Litoria alboguttata at Wikimedia Commons