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| Litoria dentata (Keferstein 1868) Litoria balatus Litoria quiritatus Rowley, Mahony, Hines, Myers, Price, Shea & Donnellan, 2021 |
Abstract
The bleating tree frog (Litoria dentata) is one of the more prominent pelodryadid frogs of eastern Australia by virtue of its extremely loud, piercing, male advertisement call. A member of the Litoria rubella species group, L. dentata has a broad latitudinal distribution and is widespread from coastal and subcoastal lowlands through to montane areas. A recent mitochondrial DNA analysis showed a deep phylogeographic break between populations of L. dentata on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Here we extended the mitochondrial survey with more geographically comprehensive sampling and tested the systematic implications of our findings with nuclear genome wide single-nucleotide polymorphism, morphological and male advertisement call datasets. While similar in appearance and in male advertisement call, our integrative analysis demonstrates the presence of three species which replace each other in a north-south series. We redescribe Litoria dentata, which is restricted to coastal north-eastern New South Wales, and formally describe Litoria balatus sp. nov., from south-eastern Queensland, and Litoria quiritatus sp. nov., from the mid-coast of New South Wales to north-eastern Victoria.
Key words: Frog diversity, genetic diversity, species complex
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| Images in life of Litoria dentata. A) male AMS R184779, Kyogle NSW, B) male AMS R184704, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, NSW, C) male, no voucher, Guy Fawkes River National Park, NSW, D) amplexing pair, no vouchers, Guy Fawkes River National Park, NSW, E) male, no voucher, Guy Fawkes River National Park, NSW, F) male, no voucher, Barrington NSW, G) male, no voucher, Kookabookra NSW, H) male AMS R184779, Kyogle, NSW, I) male AMS R184704, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, NSW, J) male AMS R184705, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, NSW. All images by Jodi Rowley. |
Litoria dentata (Keferstein 1868)
Robust Bleating Tree Frog
Revised diagnosis. Litoria dentata is distinguished from all species in the Litoria rubella group by a combination of (1) adult body size 28–42 mm in males and 29–42 mm in females, (2) relatively robust build, (3) the presence of a single, continuous, irregularly edged, dark brown dorsal band, (4) the absence of light spots on the dorsum, (5) lack of a well-defined pale mid-dorsal stripe, (6) absence of distinctive pale markings above the groin, vent and along lower leg, (7) a dorsolateral line diffusing above insertion of the arm, and (8) adult males having a vocal sac that is black or very dark yellowish black when deflated and yellowish brown when inflated.
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| Images in life of Litoria balatus sp. nov. A) QM J95155, B) QM J95156, Mount Victoria, Bunya Mountains Road, adjoining Bunya Mountains National Park, Qld, C) QM J93232, Ocean View, Qld, D) QM J86660, Karawatha Forest Park, Qld, E) QM J97210, Samsonvale, Qld, F) QM J96340, Maroon, Qld, G) QM J97210, Samsonvale, Qld, H) QM J96340, Maroon, Qld, I) QM J96341, Barney View, Qld, J) QM J86661, Karawatha, Qld. All images by Harry B. Hines. |
Litoria balatus sp. nov.
Slender Bleating Tree Frog
Diagnosis. Litoria balatus sp. nov. is distinguished from all species in the Litoria rubella group by a combination of (1) adult body size 26–44 mm in males and 33–43 mm in females, (2) relatively slender build, (3) the presence of a single, continuous, irregularly edged, dark brown dorsal band, (4) the absence of light spots on the dorsum, (5) lack of a well-defined pale mid-dorsal stripe, (6) absence of distinctive pale markings above the groin, vent and along lower leg, (7) presence of a distinct dorsolateral line continuing to groin, and (8) adult males having a vocal sac that is black.
Etymology. The specific epithet, balatus, is a masculine Latin 4th declension noun, meaning “a bleating”, used as a noun in apposition to the genus name.
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| Images in life of Litoria quiritatus sp. nov. A) male, no voucher, Blacktown, NSW (Stephen Mahony), B) male, no voucher, Darkes Forest, NSW (Jodi Rowley), C) male, no voucher, Darkes Forest NSW (Jodi Rowley), D) male, no voucher, Barrington, NSW (Jodi Rowley), E) male, no voucher, Barrington, NSW (Jodi Rowley), F) male, Ourimbah, no voucher, NSW (Steve Donnellan). |
Litoria quiritatus sp. nov.
Screaming Tree Frog
Diagnosis. Litoria quiritatus sp. nov. is distinguished from all species in the Litoria rubella group by a combination of (1) adult body size 36–43 mm in males and 34–46 mm in females, (2) relatively robust build, (3) the presence of a single, continuous, irregularly edged, dark brown dorsal band, (4) the absence of light spots on the dorsum, (5) lack of a well-defined pale mid-dorsal stripe, (6) absence of distinctive pale markings above the groin, vent and along lower leg, (7) a dorsolateral line diffusing above insertion of the arm, and (8) adult males having a vocal sac that is yellow when deflated and when inflated.
Etymology. The specific epithet, quiritatus, is a masculine Latin 4th declension noun based on the verb quirito, meaning a shriek or scream, used as a noun in apposition to the genus name.
Jodi J. L. Rowley, M. J. Mahony, Harry B. Hines, S. Myers, Luke C. Price, Glenn M. Shea & Stephen C. Donnellan. 2021. Two New Frog Species from the Litoria rubella Species Group from eastern Australia. Zootaxa. 5071(1); 1-41. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5071.1.1
Bleating or screaming? Two new, very loud, frog species described in eastern Australia
