Uperoleia is a genus of frogs in the family Myobatrachidae. They are native to northern and eastern Australia and southern lowlands of New Guinea.[1] These are small squat frogs, more commonly known as "toadlets". They have glandular skin, often with a pair of raised glands behind each eye, or on the flanks.
| Uperoleia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tyler's toadlet, Uperoleia tyleri | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Myobatrachidae |
| Genus: | Uperoleia Gray, 1841 |
| Species | |
|
See text. | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Hyperolia — unjustified emendation | |
They have bumpy, rough skin giving them the appearance of a small toad, hence the name "toadlet", although they are often called "gungans" in Queensland. There are two distinct types of calls—Uperoleia species make either a "click" or a "squelch". Generally, the "clicking" Uperoleia have long thin inguinal glands that run along the dorsal surface, while the "squelching" Uperoleia have round inguinal glands restricted to the posterior half of the dorsal surface. It is unusual to find more than one species of "clickers" or "squelchers" in the same location, although finding one of each is quite frequent in northern Australia. The species in this genus show great similarities in body shape and colouration making them difficult to tell apart. Call analysis is often required to confirm identification.[citation needed] This genus is the largest of any in the family Myobatrachidae.[2][3]
Clicking Uperoleia include U. glandulosa, U. aspera, U. minima, U. trachyderma, U. lithomoda, U. littlejohni, U. altissima, U. mimula, and U. rugosa. The squelching Uperoleia include U. russelli, U. saxatilis, U. talpa, U. borealis, U. crassa, and U. inundata. The eastern species U. laevigata, U. fusca, U. tyleri, and U. martini are also squelchers, but are distantly related. The species U. mjobergi, U. micromeles, U. micra, and U. daviesae are distinct from these other groups.[2]
Species edit
Following the Amphibian Species of the World, there are 29 species:[4]
| Common name | Binomial name |
|---|---|
| Montane toadlet | Uperoleia altissima Davies, Watson, McDonald, Trenerry & Werren, 1993 |
| Jabiru toadlet | Uperoleia arenicola Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Derby toadlet | Uperoleia aspera Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Northern toadlet | Uperoleia borealis Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Fat toadlet | Uperoleia crassa Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Howard Springs toadlet | Uperoleia daviesae Young, Tyler & Kent, 2005 |
| Dusky toadlet | Uperoleia fusca Davies, McDonald & Corben, 1986 |
| Glandular toadlet | Uperoleia glandulosa Davies, Mahony & Roberts, 1985 |
| Gurrumul's toadlet | Uperoleia gurrumuli Catullo & Keogh, 2021 |
| Flood plain toadlet | Uperoleia inundata Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Smooth toadlet | Uperoleia laevigata Keferstein, 1867 |
| Stonemason's toadlet | Uperoleia lithomoda Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Littlejohn's toadlet | Uperoleia littlejohni Davies, McDonald & Corben, 1986 |
| Mahony's toadlet | Uperoleia mahonyi Clulow, Anstis, Keogh, and Catullo, 2016 |
| Marbled toadlet, yellow-spotted toadlet | Uperoleia marmorata Gray, 1841 |
| Martin's toadlet | Uperoleia martini Davies & Littlejohn, 1986 |
| Tiny toadlet | Uperoleia micra Doughty and Roberts, 2008 |
| Tanami toadlet | Uperoleia micromeles Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Mimic toadlet | Uperoleia mimula Davies, McDonald & Corben, 1986 |
| Small toadlet | Uperoleia minima Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Mjoberg's toadlet | Uperoleia mjobergi (Andersson, 1913) |
| Alexandria toadlet | Uperoleia orientalis (Parker, 1940) |
| Wrinkled toadlet, red-groined toadlet | Uperoleia rugosa (Andersson, 1916) |
| Russell's toadlet | Uperoleia russelli (Loveridge, 1933) |
| Pilbara toadlet | Uperoleia saxatilis Catullo et al., 2011[2] |
| Ratcheting toadlet | Uperoleia stridera Catullo, Doughty, and Keogh, 2014 |
| Mole toadlet | Uperoleia talpa Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Blacksoil toadlet | Uperoleia trachyderma Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 |
| Tyler's toadlet | Uperoleia tyleri Davies & Littlejohn, 1986 |
Note that the AmphibiaWeb recognizes the small-headed toadlet (Uperoleia capitulata (Davies, McDonald & Corben, 1986)),[5] a species that the Amphibian Species of the World, following Catullo and Keogh (2014),[6] treats as a synonym of the wrinkled toadlet (Uperoleia rugosa).[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Uperoleia Gray, 1841". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ a b c Catullo, R.A.; Doughty, P.; Roberts, J.D.; Keogh, J.S. (2011). "Multi-locus phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Uperoleia toadlets (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the western arid zone of Australia, with a description of a new species" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2902: 1–43. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2902.1.1.
- ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Myobatrachidae Schlegel, 1850". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ "Uperoleia Gray, 1841 | Amphibian Species of the World". amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
- ^ "Myobatrachidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ Catullo, R.A.; Keogh, J.S. (2014). "Aridification drove repeated episodes of diversification between Australian biomes: Evidence from a multi-locus phylogeny of Australian toadlets (Uperoleia: Myobatrachidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 79: 106–117. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.06.012. PMID 24971737.