Litoria Tschudi 1838

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

Litoria Tschudi, 1838 Litoria Tschudi, 1838:77. Type species: Litoria freycineti Tschudi, 1838, by monotypy. Ranoidea Tschudi, 1838:76. Type species: Ranoidea jacksoniensis Tschudi, 1838, by monotypy. Synonym of Litoria by International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 48:337–338). Lepthyla Duméril and Bibron, 1841:504. Substitute name for Litoria Tschudi, 1838. Pelobius Fitzinger, 1843:31. Type species: Litoria freycineti Duméril and Bibron (= Litoria freycineti Tschudi, 1838) by original designation. Polyphone Gistel, 1849:xi. Substitute name for Ranoidea Tschudi, 1838. Hylomantis Peters, 1880:224. Type species Hylomantis fallax Peters, 1880, by monotypy. Preoccupied by Hylomantis Peters 1873 (Amphibia: Anura: Phyllomedusidae). Dryomantis Peters, 1882:8 Replacement name for Hylomantis Peters, 1880. Coggerdonia Wells and Wellington, 1985:4. Type species: Hyla adelaidensis Gray, 1841, by original designation. Colleeneremia Wells and Wellington, 1975:4. Type species: Hyla rubella Gray, 1842, by original designation. Llewellynura Wells and Wellington. 1985:5. Type species: Hyla dorsalis microbelos Cogger, 1966, by original designation. Mahonabatrachus Wells and Wellington, 1985:5. Type species: Hyla meiriana Tyler, 1969, by original designation. Pengilleyia Wells and Wellington, 1985:5. Type species: Litoria tyleri Watson, Gartside, Littlejohn, and Loftus-Hills, 1979, by original designation. Rawlinsonia Wells and Wellington, 1085:5. Type species: Hyla ewingii Duméril and Bibron, 1841, by original designation. Saganura Wells and Wellington, 1985:6. Type species: Hyla burrowsi Scott, 1942, by original designation. Definition. Arboreal frogs with the pupil horizontally elliptical and the palpebral membrane unpigmented (Figs. 16A and B); tadpoles with small anteroventral or enlarged ventral oral discs with a LTRF of 2/3. Chromosome complement 2n = 26. Content. Ninety-one species: Litoria adelaidensis (Gray), albolabris* (Wandolleck), amboinensis (Horst), angiana (Boulenger), arfakiana (Peters & Doria), aurifera * Anstis, Tyler, Roberts, Price & Doughty, axillaris * Doughty, biakensis * Günther, bibonius * Kraus and Allison, bicolor (Gray), burrowsi (Scott), capitula * (Tyler), chloristona * Menzies, Richards & Tyler, chloronota * (Boulenger), chrisdahli * Richards, christianbergmanni * Günther, congenita (Peters & Doria), contrastens* (Tyler), cooloolensis* Liem, coplandi (Tyler), corbeni * (Wells & Wellington), darlingtoni (Loveridge), dentata (Keferstein), dorsalis Macleay, electrica Ingram & Corben, eurynastes * Menzies, Richards & Tyler, everetti * (Boulenger), ewingii (Duméril & Bibron), fallax (Peters), flavescens * Kraus & Allison, freycineti Tschudi, gasconi * Richards, Oliver, Krey & Tjaturadi, havina Menzies, hilli * Hiaso & Richards, humboldtorum * Günther, inermis (Peters), iris (Tyler), jervisiensis (Duméril & Bibron), latopalmata (Günther), leucova (Tyler), littlejohni White, Whitford & Mahony, lodesdema * Menzies, Richards & Tyler, longicrus * (Boulenger), longirostris (Tyler & Davies), lutea * (Boulenger), majikthise Johnson & Richards, mareku * Günther, megalops * Richards & Iskander, meiriana (Tyler), microbelos (Cogger), micromembrana (Tyler), modica (Tyler), mucro * Menzies, multiplica (Tyler), mystax * (Van Kampen), nasuta (Gray), nigrofrenata (Günther), nigropunctata (Meyer), oenicolen * Menzies & Zweifel, ollauro * Menzies, olongburensis Liem & Ingram, pallida Davies, Martin & Watson, paraewingi Watson, Loftus-Hills & Littlejohn, peronii (Tschudi), personata Tyler, Davies & Martin, pronimia Menzies, prora (Menzies), pygmaea * (Meyer), quadrilineata * Tyler & Parker, revelata Ingram, Corben & Hosmer, rothii (De Vis), rubella (Gray), rubrops * Kraus & Allison, scabra* Günther & Richards, singadanae * Richards, spartacus Richards & Oliver, staccato * Doughty & Anstis, thesaurensis (Peters), timida * Tyler and Parker, tornieri (Nieden), tyleri Martin, Watson, Gartside, Littlejohn, & Loftus-Hill, umarensis * Günther, umbonata * Tyler & Davies, verae * Günther, verreauxii (Dúmeril), viranula * Menzies, Richards & Tyler, vocivincens * Menzies, wapogaensis * Richards & Iskander, watjulumensis (Copland), wisselensis * (Tyler), and wollastoni (Boulenger). Distribution. Northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea and associated islands: Solomon Islands, New Britain, Vanuatu, and Moluccas Islands and Seram Island in Indonesia. Etymology. The generic name is the Latin noun litoris meaning shore. Inasmuch as Tschudi’s (1838) description was based on material he observed in Paris that was plundered from a British ship leaving Australia, he may have assumed that the frog lived near the shore. The gender is feminine. Remarks. The following eight species for which molecular data are lacking are regarded as incertae sedis: castanea (Steindachner), hunti Richards, Oliver, Dahl & Tjatiradi, jeudii (Werner), louisiadensis (Tyler), multicolor Günther, obtusirostris Meyer, richardsi Dennis & Cunningham, and vagabunda (Peters & Doria). At the present time they cannot be assigned with certainty to Litoria or Dryopsophus. Two-thirds (61) of the species of Litoria occur on New Guinea and associated islands. Only three of these (L. bicolor, rothii, and rubella) also occur on Australia.