Wollumbin pouched frog
| Wollumbin pouched frog | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Myobatrachidae |
| Genus: | Assa |
| Species: | A. wollumbin
|
| Binomial name | |
| Assa wollumbin Mahony, Hines, Mahony, Moses, Catalano, Myers, and Donnellan, 2021
| |
Assa wollumbin, the Wollumbin pouched frog or Mount Wollumbin hip-pocket frog, is a species of small, terrestrial frog endemic to New South Wales, Australia. It is restricted to the slopes of Mount Warning (Wollumbin), where it inhabits rainforest habitat.[2][3]
Previously considered a population of the pouched frog (A. darlingtoni), which was thought to be the only species in the genus, it was described as a new species in 2021 following a rangewide genetic analysis of A. darlingtoni, which found the Wollumbin population to be sufficiently genetically distinct; it is also physically smaller than A. darlingtoni. Despite its distinctiveness, it is separated from populations of A. darlingtoni by only 15 kilometres (9.3 mi); in relation to the ancient Tweed Volcano, A. darlingtoni inhabits the former caldera wall while A. wollumbin inhabits the former volcanic plug that is now Mt. Wollumbin.[4] As with A. darlingtoni, it shares the unusual parental care where male individuals carry developing tadpoles in subcutaneous pouches on their hips.[3][4][5]
As of September 2023[update], it was classified as "Critically Endangered" under the EPBC Act.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Assa wollumbin, Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australia.
- ^ "Assa wollumbin Mahony, Hines, Mahony, Moses, Catalano, Myers, and Donnellan, 2021". Amphibian Species of the World.
- ^ a b Mahony, Michael J.; Hines, Harry B.; Mahony, Stephen V.; Moses, Bede; Catalano, Sarah R.; Myers, Steven; Donnellan, Stephen C. (2021-10-26). "A new hip-pocket frog from mid-eastern Australia (Anura: Myobatrachidae: Assa)". Zootaxa. 5057 (4): 451–486. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5057.4.1. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 34811197.
- ^ a b Mahony, Stephen (24 June 2022). "Unravelling the frog diversity of Gondwanan rainforests". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ "Assa wollumbin". www.frogid.net.au. Retrieved 2023-07-21.