Philoria Explained

Philoria is a genus of frogs native to eastern and southern Australia.[1] These frogs are all confined to mountain areas, with 7 species occurring in the mountains of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. One species occurs in Victoria. All species are listed as endangered, except the Baw Baw frog, which is listed as critically endangered.[2] They are small to medium-sized frogs that live in water saturated sites, such as sphagnum bogs and seepages on rocky slopes. The eggs are laid in foam nests hidden from light. The tadpoles remain within the nest and live entirely on the yolk.[3]

Some taxonomists class only the Baw Baw frog (Philoria frosti) in the genus Philoria and class the other 5 species in the genus Kyarranus because of osteological features, size differences (Philoria frosti is larger) and the presence of a large gland behind each eye (parotoid gland).

Species

There are seven species in the genus Philoria:[1]

Common nameBinomial name
Baw Baw frogPhiloria frosti
Mount Ballow mountain frogPhiloria knowlesi
Mountain frogPhiloria kundagungan
Loveridge's frogPhiloria loveridgei
Pugh's frogPhiloria pughi
Richmond frogPhiloria richmondensis
Sphagnum frogPhiloria sphagnicolus
The fossil species Philoria borealis (Tyler, 1991) (initially described as Kyarranus borealis) is known from the Early Miocene of Riversleigh.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Philoria Spencer, 1901 . Frost, Darrel R. . 2022 . Amphibian Species of the World 6.1, an Online Reference . American Museum of Natural History . 16 April 2022.
  2. Web site: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. . IUCN . 2013 . 18 December 2013.
  3. Altig, R., & Johnston, G. (1989). Guilds of Anuran Larvae: Relationships among Developmental Modes, Morphologies, and Habitats. Herpetological Monographs, 3, 81-109. doi:10.2307/1466987
  4. Sanchiz . B. . 2012-01-01 . Nomenclatural notes on living and fossil amphibians . Graellsia.