Table of Contents
Overview
Distribution
Range Description
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Geographic Range
The Giant or White-Lipped tree frog inhabits all of New Guinea and coastal areas of northern Australia near Townsville, Queensland, and around Cape York Peninsula, into the Gulf of Carpenteria (Cogger, 1992).
Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native )
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Distribution and Habitat
- Barker, J., Grigg, G. C., and Tyler, M. J. (1995). A Field Guide to Australian Frogs. Surrey Beatty and Sons, New South Wales.
- Cogger, H.G. (1992). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed Books, New South Wales.
- Banks, C.B., Birkett, J.R., Dunn, R.W., and Martin, A.A. (1983). ''Development of Litoria infrafrenata (Anura: Hylidae).'' Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 107(4), 197-200.
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Physical Description
Morphology
Physical Description
Giant tree frogs are bright green or brown on the dorsal surface with an intense white stripe covering its lover lip and extending back below the tympanum to the base of the forelimb. A second white strip runs along the hind legs and includes the fifth and a good portion of the fourth toes. The white stripes have been known to become pink at times (Wildlife-australia, 1999). The ventral surface of the frog is white and the skin on the underside and sides can become quite lumpy and granular. However, the throat and rest of the body is very smooth. No pectoral fold is present on Giant tree frogs. Toe and finger discs are very large, and the fingers are at least half-webbed. The tympanum is quite distinct. The Giant tree frog is the largest tree frog on earth, averaging about 11 centimeters, and reaching a maximum length of 14 centimeters (Cogger, 1992; Tyler, 1994).
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Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
Systems
- Terrestrial
- Freshwater
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Habitat
Giant tree frogs aren't very selective when it comes to habitat. They inhabit diverse situations from farms to rainforests. Giant tree frogs can frequently be found in or around human structures, such as houses, sheds, or garages (Cogger, 1992).
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest
Aquatic Biomes: coastal
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Trophic Strategy
Food Habits
Giant tree frogs possess vomerine teeth. They prey upon a wide variety of insects, usually on humid, wet evenings (Cogger, 1992).
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Life History and Behavior
Reproduction
Reproduction
The mating call of Giant tree frogs is quite similar to a dog bark. Breeding is in ponds and other shallow water bodies. During amplexus, the female deposits 200 to 400 whitish eggs, each about 3 mm in diameter (Cogger, 1992; Staniszewski, 1995).
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Barcode data: Litoria infrafrenata
There are 34 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank. Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species. See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Download FASTA File
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Statistics of barcoding coverage: Litoria infrafrenata
Public Records: 34
Species: 74
Species With Barcodes: 1
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Justification
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Conservation Status
This species is apparently locally common, but information on populations and conservation status is lacking.
US Federal List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
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Trends
Population
Population Trend
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Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
- Barker, J., Grigg, G. C., and Tyler, M. J. (1995). A Field Guide to Australian Frogs. Surrey Beatty and Sons, New South Wales.
- Cogger, H.G. (1992). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed Books, New South Wales.
- Banks, C.B., Birkett, J.R., Dunn, R.W., and Martin, A.A. (1983). ''Development of Litoria infrafrenata (Anura: Hylidae).'' Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 107(4), 197-200.
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Threats
Threats
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Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Threats
Loss of habitat through logging.
Conservation Measures
Protected where it occurs in rainforests.
- Barker, J., Grigg, G. C., and Tyler, M. J. (1995). A Field Guide to Australian Frogs. Surrey Beatty and Sons, New South Wales.
- Cogger, H.G. (1992). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed Books, New South Wales.
- Banks, C.B., Birkett, J.R., Dunn, R.W., and Martin, A.A. (1983). ''Development of Litoria infrafrenata (Anura: Hylidae).'' Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 107(4), 197-200.
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Management
Conservation Actions
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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
This species undoubtedly helps in the control of insect populations.
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Wikipedia
White-lipped Tree Frog
The White-lipped Tree Frog (Litoria infrafrenata), also known as the Giant Tree Frog, is the world's largest tree frog. This species is native to the rainforests of Northern Queensland, New Guinea, the Bismarck Islands and the Admiralty Islands.
Contents |
Physical description
The White-lipped Tree Frog can reach a length of over 13 centimeters (5 inches). Females are larger than males, and the males usually reach only 10 centimetres (4 inches). Its dorsal surface is usually bright green, although the colour changes depending on the temperature and background, and can be brown. The ventral surface is off-white. The lower lip has a distinctive white stripe (giving this species its name) which continues to the shoulder. There are white stripes on the trailing edges of the lower leg, which may turn pink in the breeding male. The White-lipped Tree Frog has large toe pads, which aid it to climb. The toes are completely webbed, and the hands partially webbed.
Ecology and behaviour
The White-lipped Tree Frog is distributed in Australia along the coastal areas of Cape York Peninsula and the wet tropics of north-eastern Queensland. It is the most widely distributed tree frog in the New Guinea region, spanning from eastern Indonesia, through the New Guinea mainland, to the Bismarck and the Admiralty Islands in the north. It lives in rainforest, cultivated areas and around houses in coastal areas, and is restricted to areas below 1200 metres in altitude.
It has a loud, barking call but when distressed it makes a cat-like "mew" sound. Males call during spring and summer after rain from vegetation around the breeding site, normally a still body of water.
Its diet is mainly insects and other arthropods. It can live to over ten years in the wild.
This species of frog is known for being moved around in fruit produce from northern Australia and ending up becoming a lost frog in southern areas.
As a pet
It is kept as a pet, in Australia this animal may be kept in captivity with the appropriate permit.
References
- Iskandar et al. (2004). Litoria infrafrenata. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern
- Menzies, J.I. (1976). Handbook of Common New Guinea Frogs. Wau Ecology Institute.
- Cronin, L., (2001). Australian Reptiles and Amphibians, Envirobook, ISBN 0-85881-186-3
- Cogger, H.G. (2000). Reptiles and amphibians of Australia. Reed Books: Sydney.
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