New Guinea relations

Added to Amphibians of Australia

When comparing Australia's amphibians to those of other countries, the closest relationships are seen with New Guinean species. Between New Guinea and Australia there are around 460 species of known Amphibia, with a predicted 400 that are yet to be described (almost all of which are in New Guinea). All of the Amphibia in both countries are of the order Anuran (frogs and toads). The strong similarities between New Guinean species and Australian species is due to the 40 million years of isolation the continent had when the two land masses were joined, or more recently, during the last ice age. Although New Zealand was once joined to Australia, its separation took place long before that of the Australia continent; this is a reason for the differences between Australian and New Zealand flora and fauna. The genus Microhylidae is well represented in New Guinea with a total of around 145 species in 19 genera while only 2 genera of Microhylid are present in Australia. New Guinea has 80 species of Hylidae of 2 genera, Litoria and Nyctimystes. Litoria is a predominately Australian genus while Nyctimystes is represented with a sole species in Australia and 20 species in New Guinea. The family Myobatrachidae is endemic to Oceania with almost every species occuring in Australia with only 7 species that are present in New Guinea. The closest relatives of the Myobatrachids are those in the genera Sooglossidae, of the Seychelle Islands and Leptodactylidae, of Central and South America.

GGBF for FA

Green and Golden Bell Frog

The Green and Golden Bell Frog (Litoria aurea) is a large predominantly terrestrial tree frog native to the east coast of Australia. Once one of the most common frogs in its range, it has undergone major population declines and it is estimated that they have disappeared from at least 90% of their historic range. Many populations, practically in the Sydney region, occur in areas of high disturbance. Once such examples is a population in the dis-used clay quarry at Homebush Bay, the proposed site of the tennis courts in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Once the Green and Golden Bell Frog was discovered in the quarry the tennis courts were built elsewhere. Green and Golden Bell Frogs are amongst only a few native Australian amphibians that have been recorded laying more than 10000 eggs in one spawning.