Philoria is a genus of frogs native to eastern and southern Australia.[1] These frogs are all confined to mountain areas, with 7 species occurring in the mountains of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. One species occurs in Victoria. All species are listed as endangered, except the Baw Baw frog, which is listed as critically endangered.[2] They are small to medium-sized frogs that live in water saturated sites, such as sphagnum bogs and seepages on rocky slopes. The eggs are laid in foam nests hidden from light. The tadpoles remain within the nest and live entirely on the yolk.[3]

Philoria
Temporal range: Early Miocene–present
Sphagnum frog (Philoria sphagnicolus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Limnodynastidae
Genus: Philoria
Spencer, 1901
Diversity
7 species
Philoria range.
Synonyms
  • Kyarranus Moore, 1958

Some taxonomists class only the Baw Baw frog (Philoria frosti) in the genus Philoria and class the other 5 species in the genus Kyarranus because of osteological features, size differences (Philoria frosti is larger) and the presence of a large gland behind each eye (parotoid gland).[citation needed]

Species

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There are seven species in the genus Philoria:[1]

Common name Binomial name
Baw Baw frog Philoria frosti Spencer, 1901
Mount Ballow mountain frog Philoria knowlesi Mahony, Hines, Mahony & Donnellan, 2022
Mountain frog Philoria kundagungan (Ingram & Corben, 1975)
Loveridge's frog Philoria loveridgei Parker, 1940
Pugh's frog Philoria pughi Knowles, Mahony, Armstrong & Donnellan, 2004
Richmond frog Philoria richmondensis Knowles, Mahony, Armstrong & Donnellan, 2004
Sphagnum frog Philoria sphagnicolus (Moore, 1958)

The fossil species Philoria borealis (Tyler, 1991) (initially described as Kyarranus borealis) is known from the Early Miocene of Riversleigh.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Frost, Darrel R. (2022). "Philoria Spencer, 1901". Amphibian Species of the World 6.1, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  2. ^ IUCN (2013). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>". Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  3. ^ Altig, R., & Johnston, G. (1989). Guilds of Anuran Larvae: Relationships among Developmental Modes, Morphologies, and Habitats. Herpetological Monographs, 3, 81-109. doi:10.2307/1466987
  4. ^ Sanchiz, B. (2012-01-01). "Nomenclatural notes on living and fossil amphibians". Graellsia.