Western spotted frog

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Western spotted frog
Heleioporus albopunctatus (cropped).jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Limnodynastidae
Genus: Heleioporus
Species:
H. albopunctatus
Binomial name
Heleioporus albopunctatus
Gray, 1841

The western spotted frog (Heleioporus albopunctatus) is a species of frog in the family Limnodynastidae. It is endemic to Western Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, rocky areas, granite outcrops, arable land, pastureland, open excavations, and canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat loss and salinity.

Contents

Breeding

Heleioporus albopunctatus has terrestrial egg deposition. Males excavate burrows up to 1 m deep in sandy substrates surrounding ephemeral waterbodies, and commence calling in autumn (March/April). Amplexus (mating) occurs in the burrow and females deposit a clutch of eggs embedded in foam, in a chamber at the base of the burrow. Eggs develop to mid-stage tadpoles within the eggs, but final development is dependent on winter rains filling the waterbody and flooding burrows. Tadpoles then hatch and complete development in the pond.

Some clutches of eggs have been found to be infested by the larvae of a dipteran fly Aphiura breviceps and females of this fly may reside in the burrows of this frog where they are presumed to feed on the outer capsules of the eggs. [2] In one study, around 7% of burrows were found to have eggs infested with maggots from this phorid fly and the mean egg clutch size was 391, and on average, only 2.8% of clutches were found to experience some form of egg mortality. [3]

Population

Genetic studies have shown that there is good dispersal across the range of this species, however high levels of inbreeding were detected between some populations in the central wheatbelt region of WA, indicating that habitat fragmentation and salinity may be restricting gene flow. [4] A comprehensive study of populations in the central wheatbelt of Western Australia used mark-recapture studies and found low levels of recapture (0.05 to 0.45) between years and estimated an overall survival rate ranging from 0.34-1. [5] This study concluded that survival rates were generally high and the species was persisting in highly modified landscapes. A further population viability analysis study of 24 populations across a gradient from forest to cleared land, found that frog populations connected by dispersal (metapopulations) were less likely to become extinct than isolated populations. [6] That study also found that the survival rates of juvenile frogs was the most important factor in the persistence of populations and that populations may survive well even under a drying climate, if breeding ponds can be managed to not dry out too quickly.

Related Research Articles

Frog Order of amphibians

A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura. The oldest fossil "proto-frog" Triadobatrachus is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265 million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history.

Corroboree frog Name for two species of amphibian

The corroboree frogs are two species of small, poisonous ground dwelling frogs, native to Southern Tablelands of Australia. The two species are the southern corroboree frog and the northern corroboree frog. They are unique among frogs in that they produce their own poison rather than obtain it from their food source as is the case in every other poisonous frog species.

Giant burrowing frog Species of amphibian

The giant burrowing frog or eastern owl frog is a large frog species that occurs in coastal south-east New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It is also known as the owl frog, southern owl frog, spotted owl frog, burrowing owl frog.

Green and golden bell frog 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.

Myobatrachidae Family of amphibians

Myobatrachidae, commonly known as Australian ground frogs or Australian water frogs, is a family of frogs found in Australia and New Guinea. Members of this family vary greatly in size, from species less than 1.5 cm (0.59 in) long, to the second-largest frog in Australia, the giant barred frog, at 12 cm (4.7 in) in length. The entire family is either terrestrial or aquatic frogs, with no arboreal species.

Sandhill frog Species of amphibian

The northern sandhill frog is a small, fossorial frog native to a small region of the Western Australian coast. It was formerly considered the sole species within the genus Arenophryne until the first decade of the 2000s, when a new species of frog called the southern sandhill frog was discovered about 100 kilometres from Geraldton, Western Australia in Kalbarri National Park and given the scientific name Arenophryne xiphorhyncha.

<i>Arenophryne</i> Genus of amphibians

Arenophryne is a small genus of Myobatrachid frogs from coastal Western Australia. Common names sandhill frogs and Australian dumpy frogs have been coined for it.

Plains spadefoot toad Species of amphibian

The plains spadefoot toad is a species of American spadefoot toad which ranges from southwestern Canada, throughout the Great Plains of the western United States, and into northern Mexico. Like other species of spadefoot toads, they get their name from a spade-like projections on their hind legs which allow them to dig into sandy soils. Their name, in part, comes from their keratinized metatarsals, which are wide instead of "sickle shaped". The species name translates as buzzing leaf shaped. This refers to the species distinguishing features; its buzzing mating call, and its leaf-shaped digging metatarsals. First described by Cope in 1863.

Moaning frog Species of amphibian

The moaning frog is a burrowing frog native to south-western Western Australia.

Sudells frog Species of amphibian

The Sudell's frog, painted burrowing frog, trilling frog or desert trilling frog is a species of burrowing frog common to a large part of southeastern Australia. It is found on and west of the Great Dividing Range of New South Wales to western Victoria and southern Queensland as well as far eastern South Australia.

Long-thumbed frog Species of amphibian

The long-thumbed frog, Fletcher's frog or barking marsh frog is a species of non-burrowing ground frog native to south-eastern Australia. The species belongs to the genus Limnodynastes. The twelve species in the genus are characterised by a lack of toe pads. Following phylogenetic analysis, the species was placed in L. peronii clade group alongside L. depressus, L.tasmaniensis and L. peronii.

Geocrinia vitellina, commonly known as the orange-bellied frog, is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to a 20 hectare area near Margaret River in Southwest Australia. It is vulnerable to extinction due to fire and the destruction of habitat caused by feral pigs.

The hooting frog is a species of frog in the family Limnodynastidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and intermittent rivers.

Heleioporus inornatus, the plain frog, plains frog, or whooping frog, is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is swamps.

The sand frog is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to southern Western Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, intermittent freshwater lakes, and intermittent freshwater marshes.

Desert froglet Species of frog

The desert froglet is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae, endemic to Australia. The species is not under any threat of extinction. Desert froglets occur mainly in dry or moist savanna habitats, principally from the mid-western border of Northern Territory, south-east into western Queensland and New South Wales and the north-east corner of South Australia. They can also be found along the Queensland coast where it has been recorded between Townsville and Cooktown, and as far south as Hervey Bay.

Quacking frog Species of amphibian

The quacking frog also known as the red-thighed froglet is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its call has been described as closely resembling the quack of a duck.

Burrowing frog may refer to several fossorial frog species:

Western frog may refer to:

References

  1. Dale Roberts, Jean-Marc Hero (2004). "Heleioporus albopunctatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2004: e.T9763A13014492. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T9763A13014492.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. Davis, R.A. & Disney, R.H.L.D. (2002). "Natural History and description of a scuttle fly (Diptera: Phoridae) predating the eggs of frogs (Anura: Myobatrachidae) in Western Australia". Australian Journal of Entomology. 42: 18–21. doi:10.1046/j.1440-6055.2003.00322.x.
  3. Davis, R.A. & Roberts, J.D. (2005). "Embryonic survival and egg number in small and large populations of the frog Heleioporus albopunctatus in Western Australia". Journal of Herpetology. 39 (1): 133–138. doi:10.1670/0022-1511(2005)039[0133:ESAENI]2.0.CO;2.
  4. Davis, R.A. & Roberts, J.D. (2005). "The effects of habitat fragmentation on the population genetic structure of the Western Spotted Frog, Heleioporus albopunctatus (Anura: Myobatrachidae) in south-western Australia". Australian Journal of Zoology. 53 (3): 167–175. doi:10.1071/ZO04021.
  5. Davis, Robert A.; Roberts, J. Dale (10 October 2011). "Survival and Population Size of the Frog Heleioporus albopunctatus in a Highly Modified, Agricultural Landscape". Copeia. 2011 (3): 423–429. doi:10.1643/CE-09-133. ISSN   0045-8511. S2CID   83605963.
  6. Davis, Robert A.; Lohr, Cheryl A.; Dale Roberts, J. (January 2019). "Frog survival and population viability in an agricultural landscape with a drying climate". Population Ecology. 61 (1): 102–112. doi: 10.1002/1438-390X.1001 .

Further reading