Cyclorana

Cyclorana
Water-holding frog (Cyclorana platycephala)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hylidae
Genus: Cyclorana
Steindachner, 1867
Species

13 species; see table

The range of Cyclorana (in black)

Cyclorana is a genus of frogs in the family Hylidae (tree frogs), whose members are found in most of Australia. It was formerly considered a separate genus, but reclassified following a major revision by Frost et al. in 2006.[1] Although classified as tree frogs, this genus is entirely terrestrial and lacks toe pads which their arboreal relatives use for climbing. They are classified as tree frogs because of their similarity with the other members of the genus Litoria in terms of skeletal structure and physical resemblance of the tadpoles.

This genus inhabits some of the most arid zones of Australia. Some species burrow underground and remain dormant for more than five years to survive drought conditions. They can store large amounts of water in their bladder, and form a "cocoon" around themselves to reduce loss of water. This is why they are often called "water-holding frogs". They only return to the surface to breed and eat, and normally only after heavy summer rains. Eggs are normally laid in temporary water, and tadpoles develop quickly to metamorphose before the water completely evaporates.

Species

Binomial name and author Common name
Cyclorana alboguttata (Günther, 1867) Striped burrowing frog
Cyclorana australis (Gray, 1842) Giant frog
Cyclorana brevipes (Peters, 1871) Short-footed frog
Cyclorana cryptotis (Tyler & Martin, 1977) Hidden-ear frog
Cyclorana cultripes (Parker, 1940) Knife-footed frog
Cyclorana longipes (Tyler & Martin, 1977) Long-footed frog
Cyclorana maculosa (Tyler & Martin, 1977) Daly Waters frog
Cyclorana maini (Tyler & Martin, 1977) Main's frog
Cyclorana manya (Van Beurden & McDonald, 1980) Small frog
Cyclorana novaehollandiae (Steindachner, 1867) New Holland frog
Cyclorana platycephala (Günther, 1873) Water-holding frog
Cyclorana vagitus Tyler, Davies & Martin, 1981 Wailing frog
Cyclorana verrucosa (Tyler & Martin, 1977) Rough frog

References

  1. Darrel R. Frost, Taran Grant, Julia´ N Faivovich, Raoul H. Bain, Alexander Haas, Ce´ Lio F.B. Haddad, Rafael O. De Sa´ , Alan Channing, Mark Wilkinson, Stephen C. Donnellan, Christopher J. Raxworthy, Jonathan A. Campbell, Boris L. Blotto, Paul Moler, Robert C. Drewes, Ronald A. Nussbaum, John D. Lynch, David M. Green, And Ward C. Wheeler, 2006, The Amphibian Tree of Life. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 297: 362

External links


Wikispecies has information related to: Litoria
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