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Type: Article
Published: 2008-11-21
Page range: 10–18
Abstract views: 35
PDF downloaded: 20

A new species of Uperoleia (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the northwest Kimberley, Western Australia

Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, 49 Kew Street, Welshpool WA 6106, Australia
School of Animal Science, University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
Amphibia frog Uperoleia call analysis

Abstract

Uperoleia is a large genus of small-bodied terrestrial frogs that occur in Australia and southern New Guinea. With nine species, the Kimberley region in northern Western Australia is the most diverse. Recent surveys of the northwest coast of the Kimberley have revealed a tenth species of Uperoleia. The new species is characterized by a combination of small body size, dark and slightly tubercular dorsal skin, basal webbing between the toes, outer metatarsal tubercle spatulate and oriented perpendicular to the foot, possession of maxillary teeth, a broadly exposed frontoparietal fontanelle and the advertisement call is a high-pitched rasp. All specimens collected have been associated with sandstone boulders or escarpments with flowing water or rock pools. The northwest Kimberley is an isolated region of high rainfall and rugged terrain that possesses high biodiversity for many plant and animal groups and is therefore worthy of special conservation attention.

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