Tyler's tree frog

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Tyler's tree frog
Litoria tyleri.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hylidae
Genus: Litoria
Species:
L. tyleri
Binomial name
Litoria tyleri
Martin, Watson, Gartside, Littlejohn, and Loftus-Hills, 1979
Litoria Tyleri range.PNG
Distribution of the Tyler's tree frog
Synonyms

Pengilleyia tyleri
Wells and Wellington, 1985

Tyler's tree frog or the southern laughing tree frog (Litoria tyleri) is an arboreal species of tree frog. It is native to eastern Australia where it occurs from south-eastern Queensland to the southern coast of New South Wales. It is generally a coastal species and is not found inland. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Etymology

The specific name tyleri honours Michael J. Tyler, an Australian herpetologist. [4]

Description

A pair of Tyler's tree frogs in amplexus: the male is in typical breeding yellow colouration. Litoria tyleri amplexus.jpg
A pair of Tyler's tree frogs in amplexus: the male is in typical breeding yellow colouration.

This frog is grey-brown to fawn (of various shades) on its dorsal surface, and a whitish-yellow on its ventral surface. Females are larger than males and reach a maximum size of about 50 mm. It has green flecks on the back. The iris is golden in colour and it has cross-shaped pupils. This species is very similar to the Peron's tree frog, (Litoria peronii). The easiest way to tell them apart is by call, but L. peronii has strong black and yellow marbling in the thighs, armpits, hands and feet. L. tyleri has only faint yellow and brown marbling in the legs and armpits, lacking marbling in the hands and feet. This species lacks a strong black line above the tympanum, this line is present in L. peronii. As it is an arboreal frog, the toe pads are larger than its toes and fingers, allowing it to grip well on branches. Its hands are partially webbed, its toes are completely webbed, and the tympanum is visible. During breeding, males can turn a very strong yellow colour.

Ecology and behaviour

This species inhabits coastal forest and cleared land. It is normally found around permanent dams, swamps, and ponds. Males call from vegetation around the water body during spring and summer, often after rain. The call of this species resembles a short laughing noise, similar to that of the Peron's tree frog, but without a downward inflection.

As a pet

It is kept as a pet; in Australia, this animal may be kept in captivity with the appropriate permit.

Related Research Articles

<i>Litoria</i> Genus of amphibians

Litoria is a genus of hylid tree frogs, sometimes collectively referred to as Australasian treefrogs, that are native to Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and the Moluccan Islands. 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 one hundred species are recognised and new species are still being added, such as the Pinocchio frog discovered in 2008 and described in 2019.

<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 species of tree frog. It is a small and very common frog and 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).

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

Ranoidea chloris, commonly known as the red-eyed tree frog or orange-eyed tree frog, is a species of tree frog native to eastern Australia; ranging from south of Sydney to Proserpine in mid-northern Queensland.

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

Peron's tree frog, also known as the emerald-spotted tree frog, emerald-speckled tree frog, laughing tree frog, and maniacal cackle frog, is species of tree frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is a common frog found in Australia.

<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">Magnificent tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The magnificent tree frog, also known as the splendid tree frog, is a tree frog species first described in 1977. It has a limited range, only occurring on the north-western coast of Australia in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It has a similar appearance to, and can be confused with, the closely related White's tree frog.

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

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

<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">Blue Mountains tree frog</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leaf green tree frog</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern brown tree frog</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dainty green tree frog</span> 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.

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

The striped burrowing frog is a species of burrowing frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae of 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.

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

The Booroolong frog is a species of stream-dwelling frog native to the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales.

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

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

<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 species of 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">Slender tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The slender tree frog is a tree frog native to south-western Australia.

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.

Nyctimystes tyleri is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae of the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and only known from its type locality, Gapaia Creek, between Garaina and Saureli, in the Morobe Province. The specific name honours Michael J. Tyler, an Australian herpetologist, "in recognition of his notable contributions to the systematics of Australo-papuan frogs." Common name Tyler's big-eyed treefrog has been coined for this species.

References

  1. 1 2 Jean-Marc Hero; John Clarke; Ed Meyer (2004). "Litoria tyleri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2004. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Litoria tyleri Martin, Watson, Gartside, Littlejohn, and Loftus-Hills, 1979". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  3. "Litoria tyleri". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. pp. 341–342. ISBN   978-1-907807-42-8.