White-lipped Tree Frog

Taxobox | name = White-lipped Tree Frog
status = LC
status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = stable

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image_width = 240px| regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Amphibia
ordo = Anura
familia = Hylidae
genus = "Litoria"
species = "L. infrafrenata"
binomial = "Litoria infrafrenata"
binomial_authority = Günther, 1876Verify source|date=July 2008

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.

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 makes a cat-like "mew" sound. Males call during spring and summer after rain from vegetation around the breeding site, normally a still water body.

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.

References

* Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern
*cite book|last=Menzies|first=J.I.| year=1976| title=Handbook of Common New Guinea Frogs| publisher=Wau Ecology Institute
* Cronin, L., 2001. "Australian Reptiles and Amphibians", Envirobook, ISBN 0-85881-186-3

External links

* [http://www.fdrproject.org/pages/localsps.htm The Cairns Frog Hospital]
* [http://frogsaustralia.net.au/frogs/display.cfm?frog_id=158 Frog Australia Network] -frog call available here.