Size:
- The average adult length of the yellow-thigh Tree-frog is sixty-five
millimetres.
Call:
- The Northern Red-eyed Tree Frogs often call from shrubs and lower
branches or trees.
- The calls last for nine to twelve hours
- Each call is approximately one to two seconds long
- Calls are drawn out "Aaaarrkk" with each series alternated with
several short "Chirrups"
This frog is without doubt one of the most colourful frogs in Australia
and certainly within the Wet Tropics. I have had a close association with
studies on this frog beginning in the mid-1970's when I collected specimens
on the Atherton Tablelands. Prior to these collections only a single
individual had been noted from the north Queensland area in the frog
literature.
In 1974 while conducting fauna surveys at Eungella National Park near
Mackay I collected similar frogs. Much to my astonishment the Eungella
animals were smaller than those in the Wet Tropics and south-east Queensland
and northern NewSouth Wales. At this time all populations were put in the
species Litoria chloris (Southern orange-eyed treefrog).
In collaboration with Dr Marg Davies of the University of Adelaide a study
on intraspecific variation in Litoria chloris was conducted and published in
1979. We found that the mid-east Queensland population from Conway National
Park near Prcserpine to Bulburin State Forest near Miriam Vale were
significantly smaller from other populations to the north and south. The
only character other than size we could find to differentiate the Wet
Tropics population from others was the lack of a blue/purple colouration on
the hidden area of the thigh (orange in the Wet Tropics population) and a
slight difference in head shape.
It was not until the mid-1980's and more field work and using biochemical
techniques were we able to provide additional evidence sufficient to justify
recognition of the Wet Tropics population as a distinct species, Litoria
xanthomera. The lack of significant divergence in call structure between
populations is perplexing despite differentiation in morphology, genetic
data and phenotype. Recent studies by Beardsell in 1989 produced hybrids
between L. xanthomera and L. chloris, with offspring having deformities
indicating the species were distinct.
When collecting the holotype of L. xanthomera in 1980 I made sure it was
from a national park where the type locality would be least likely to be
destroyed and enabling topotypic material to be obtained at a later date for
future research if required. The type locality is in Henrietta Creek
adjacent to the location where Goolagan's Creek meets it. The tree branch
from which the holotype was collected (and its call recorded) is still there
today despite a fright I had when the Palmerston Highway was being widened
Natural History Notes.
Litoria xanthomera is found from the Bluewater Range near Townsville to
the Big Tableland on the northern edge of the Wet Tropics Biogeographic
Region. Altitude ranges from 20 to 1300 m with most records above 200 m.
The name xanthomera is derived from the Greek xanthos for orange and mera
for thigh. In life the frog is a brilliant lime green dorsally with
ventro-lateral and ventral body pigmentation yellow/orange. The thighs are
brilliant orange. The eye is bright orange.
The frog has obvious finger and toe discs with fingers approximately
three-quarters webbed and toes nearly fully webbed. The snout and canthus
rostralis (the area between the eye and nostrils) are rounded in profile.
Females range in size from 4355 mm and males 40-56 mm. Females on average
are slightly larger than males. Amplexus (mating position) is axillary.
The call of L. xanthomera is a growl increasing in pitch (with a dominant
frequency of 3000 Hz) and ending in a series of trills. Choruses can be
quite large during heavy summer rain around pools adjacent to streams or
waterholes (including roadside ditches and quarries) in or near rainforest.
The egg mass is a clear, flat jelly-like mass with pigmented eggs. About 800
to 1500 eggs are laid. Fertilised eggs sink to the bottom of the pool soon
after laying. Time to hatching of tadpoles is dependant on water temperature.
Eggs laid in spring (should we get rain) take longer to hatch than those
laid in January. The tadpole is a typical lentic (pool) form with little
pigmentation in the tail and shallow tail fins.
Habitat is rainforest or adjacent wet sclerophyll forest with rainforest
elements. In our area L. xanthomera has been found at Lake Eacham and the
Crater National Parks and in the adjacent state forests. I have never found
any record from Lake Barrine National Park however this may be a reflection
of search effort in suitable conditions. I would be most interested to
receive any records of coastal lowland populations especially around Mission
Beach, Mossman and Cape Tribulation.
Additional studies on egg numbers, tadpole behaviour and survivorship,
predation and microhabitat preferences away from breeding pools needs to be
conducted.
References
Davies, M. and McDonald, K.R. 1979. A study of intraspecific variation in
the green tree frog Litoria chloris (Boulenger) (Hylidae). Australian
Zoologist 20 (4) 347-359.
Davies, M., McDonald, K.R. & Adams, M. 1986. A new species of green tree
frog from Queensland, Australia (Anura Hylidae). Proceedings of the Royal
Society of Victoria 98 : 63-71.
Beardsell, G.R. 1989. Hybridisation of Litoria chloris and L. xanthomera (Anura
Hylidae). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 113 :
221-224.
McDonald, K.R. 1992. Distribution patterns and conservation status of north
Queensland rainforest frogs. Conservation Technical Report 1. Queensland.
Department of Environment and Heritage, Brisbane. |