Mountain mist frog
| Mountain mist frog | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Hylidae |
| Genus: | Ranoidea |
| Species: | †R. nyakalensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Ranoidea nyakalensis (Liem, 1974)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The Mountain mist frog or Nyakala frog (Ranoidea nyakalensis) was a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae, endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats were subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and rivers. It was threatened by habitat loss and potentially chytrid fungus, before being declared extinct in 2020.[2]
Taxonomy
The mountain mist frog was one of the four species of Australian torrent treefrogs that comprise the Ranoidea nannotis species group. The other species are the common mist frog, waterfall frog, and armoured mist frog.[3]
Conservation status
It was declared extinct in October 2020, a living specimen having not been seen since April 1990.[4][5] The mountain mist frog was last seen in 1990 and it was declared extinct in 2020 because there have been no sightings of the species for over 30 years.
Special Abilities
Suctorial Mouthparts
The Mountain mist frog while still in its tadpole stage has a large, suctorial (suction) mouths. This allowed them to "stick" to rocks in torrential currents that would sweep other creatures away. They had five rows of teeth used to rasp and graze on algae while remaining firmly anchored to the rock surface.
Nuptial Spines
At its adult stage, males developed large black spines on their thumbs. These "nuptial pads" gave them a powerful grip to hold onto females in the middle of rushing rapids so that they wouldn't be separated by the water while mating.
Discovery
The Mountain mist frog was first discovered by David S. Liem in the year 1974 in the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia.
It has gotten its name from the upland rain forests. These frogs were specifically found at high elevations between 380 and 1,250 meters along fast-flowing mountain streams and waterfalls where the air is often filled with mist from the crashing water.
References
- ^ IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Litoria nyakalensis". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022. IUCN: e.T12149A78434814.
- ^ "Australia's mountain mist frog declared extinct as red list reveals scale of biodiversity crisis". the Guardian. 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ Amey, Andrew P. (2013). "The reproductive cycle of the Asian House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) in Brisbane, south-eastern Queensland: a tropical invader of a subtropical, seasonal environment". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature. 56 (2): 271–277. doi:10.17082/j.2204-1478.56.2.2013-01.
- ^ "Australia's mountain mist frog declared extinct as red list reveals scale of biodiversity crisis". the Guardian. 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2022. Litoria nyakalensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T12149A78434814. Accessed on 10 December 2022