Litoria Tschudi, 1838

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Hylidae > Subfamily: Pelodryadinae > Genus: Litoria
114 species

Litoria Tschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 36, 77. Type species: Litoria freycineti Tschudi, 1838, by monotypy.

Lepthyla Duméril and Bibron, 1841, Erp. Gen., 6: 504. Substitute name for Litoria Tschudi.

Pelobius Fitzinger, 1843, Syst. Rept.: 31.Type species: "Litoria freycineti Duméril and Bibron" (= Litoria freycineti Tschudi, 1838), by original designation. Synonymy by Tyler, 1971, Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist., 19: 353 (although generally ignored prior to this).

Chiroleptes Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: 34. Type species: Alytes australia Gray, 1842, by monotypy. Preoccupied by Chiroleptes Kirby, 1837 (Insecta). Synonymy (under Chiroleptes) by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 267; and Ogilby, 1907, Proc. R. Soc. Queensland, 20: 32; under Cyclorana by Parker, 1940, Novit. Zool., 42: 15.

Hylomantis Peters, 1880, Monatsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1880: 224. Type species: Hylomantis fallax Peters, 1880, by monotypy. Preoccupied by Hylomantis Peters, 1873 "1872". Synonymy by implication of Cogger and Lindner, 1974, in Frith and Calaby (eds.), Fauna Survey Port Essington District: 67 (not Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2, who regarded this as a synonym of Hyperolius).

Drymomantis Peters, 1882, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1882: 8. Replacement name for Hylomantis Peters, 1880. Resurrected, without discussion, by Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 5. See Tyler, 1985, Herpetol. Rev., 16: 69; Australian Society of Herpetologists, 1987, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 44: 116–121; Tyler, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45: 152; Holthius, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45 and decision by ICZN (Anonymous, 1991, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 48: 337–338).

CheiroleptesSpencer, 1901, Proc. R. Soc. Victoria, 13: 176. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Coggerdonia Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 4. Type species: Hyla adelaidensis Gray, 1841, by original designation. Synonymy by acclamation. See Tyler, 1985, Herpetol. Rev., 16: 69; Australian Society of Herpetologists, 1987, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 44: 116–121; Tyler, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45: 152; Holthius, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45 and decision by ICZN (Anonymous, 1991, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 48: 337–338).

Colleeneremia Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 4. Type species: Hyla rubella Gray, 1842, by original designation. Synonymy by acclamation. See Tyler, 1985, Herpetol. Rev., 16: 69; Australian Society of Herpetologists, 1987, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 44: 116–121; Tyler, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45: 152; Holthius, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45 and decision by ICZN (Anonymous, 1991, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 48: 337–338).

Llewellynura Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 5. Type species: Hyla dorsalis microbelos Cogger, 1966, by original designation. Synonymy by acclamation. See Tyler, 1985, Herpetol. Rev., 16: 69; Australian Society of Herpetologists, 1987, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 44: 116–121; Tyler, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45: 152; Holthius, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45 and decision by ICZN (Anonymous, 1991, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 48: 337–338).

Mahonabatrachus Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 5. Type species: Hyla meiriana Tyler, 1969, by original designation. Synonymy by acclamation. See Tyler, 1985, Herpetol. Rev., 16: 69; Australian Society of Herpetologists, 1987, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 44: 116–121; Tyler, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45: 152; Holthius, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45 and decision by ICZN (Anonymous, 1991, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 48: 337–338).

Pengilleyia Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 5. Type species: Litoria tyleri Martin, Watson, Gartside, Littlejohn, and Loftus-Hills, 1979, by original designation. Synonymy by acclamation. See Tyler, 1985, Herpetol. Rev., 16: 69; Australian Society of Herpetologists, 1987, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 44: 116–121; Tyler, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45: 152; Holthius, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45 and decision by ICZN (Anonymous, 1991, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 48: 337–338).

Rawlinsonia Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 5. Type species: Hyla ewingi Duméril and Bibron, 1841, by original designation. Synonymy by acclamation. See Tyler, 1985, Herpetol. Rev., 16: 69; Australian Society of Herpetologists, 1987, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 44: 116–121; Tyler, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45: 152; Holthius, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45 and decision by ICZN (Anonymous, 1991, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 48: 337–338).

Saganura Wells and Wellington, 1985, Aust. J. Herpetol., Suppl. Ser., 1: 6. Type species: Hyla burrowsi Scott, 1942, by original designation. Synonymy by acclamation. See Tyler, 1985, Herpetol. Rev., 16: 69; Australian Society of Herpetologists, 1987, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 44: 116–121; Tyler, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45: 152; Holthius, 1988, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 45 and decision by ICZN (Anonymous, 1991, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 48: 337–338).

DryomantisBauer, Günther, and Klipfel, 1995, in Bauer et al. (eds.), Herpetol. Contr. W.C.H. Peters: 37, 41, 684. Incorrect subsequent spelling of Drymomantis Peters, 1882.

English Names

Australasian Treefrogs (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 58).

Distribution

New Guinea, Moluccan Islands, Lesser Sunda Islands, Timor, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, and Australia, including Tasmania; introduced into New Caledonia, Guam, New Zealand.

Comment

Much of the literature of Litoria now applies to species now assigned to Dryopsophus as delimited by Duellman, Marion, and Hedges, 2016, Zootaxa, 4104: 1–109. Likely, additional generic partitions will continue for the near future inasmuch as this first estimate of phylogeny probably does not do complete justice to such a large group as noted by Duellman et al. Species groups noted in the species accounts of both Litoria and Dryopsophus, both of which were in Litoria at the time were defined by Tyler and Davies, 1978, Aust. J. Zool., Suppl. Ser., 27 (63): 1–47. Papuan species were reviewed (as Hyla) by Tyler, 1968, Zool. Verh., Leiden, 96: 1–203; Australian state checklists provided by Tyler, 1989, Aust. Frogs. Tyler, 1982, in Newman (ed.), New Zealand Wildlife Serv. Occas Publ., 2: 103–112, provided a general summary of Litoria (sensu lato) systematics. Data presented by Sumida, Allison, and Nishioka, 1998, Japan. J. Herpetol., 17: 164–174, suggested a number of cryptic species in New Guinea. Maxson, Ondrula, and Tyler, 1985, Aust. J. Zool., 33: 17–22, suggested on the basis of immunological evidence that Litoria (in the sense of including Dropsophus) is paraphyletic with respect to CycloranaKuramoto and Allison, 1991, Japan. J. Herpetol., 14: 6–11, suggested on the basis of karyological evidence that Litoria (in the sense of including Dryopsophus) is paraphyletic with respect to NyctimystesKing, 1981, in Banks and Martin (eds.), Proc. Melbourne Herpetol. Symp.: 169–175, discussed the species groups of Litoria (ensu lato) as illuminated by karyological data. Australian frogs of the Cyclorana australis group were reviewed by Tyler and Martin, 1975, Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust., 99: 93–99, and other species by Tyler and Martin, 1977, Rec. S. Aust. Mus., 17: 261–276. Maxson, Ondrula, and Tyler, 1985, Aust. J. Zool., 33: 17–22, and Hutchinson and Maxson, 1987, Aust. J. Zool., 35: 61–74, suggested on the basis of immunological evidence that Cyclorana is the sister taxon of the Litoria aurea species group, thereby rendering Litoria paraphyletic. Meyer, Jamieson, and Scheltinga, 1997, J. Submicroscop. Cytol. Pathol., 29: 443–451, provided a number of ultrastructural synapomorphies for the group and subgroups within it and supported the view that Litoria is paraphyletic with respect to CycloranaKuramoto and Allison, 1991, Japan. J. Herpetol., 14: 6–11, suggested on the basis of karyological evidence that Litoria  (sensu lato) is paraphyletic with respect to Nyctimystes.Species groups noted in the species accounts of both Litoria and Dryopsophus, both of which were in Litoria at the time were defined by Tyler and Davies, 1978, Aust. J. Zool., Suppl. Ser., 27 (63): 1–47. Papuan species were reviewed (as Hyla) by Tyler, 1968, Zool. Verh., Leiden, 96: 1–203; Australian state checklists provided by Tyler, 1989, Aust. FrogsTyler, 1982, in Newman (ed.), New Zealand Wildlife Serv. Occas Publ., 2: 103–112, provided a general summary of Litoria (sensu lato) systematics. King, Tyler, Davies, and King, 1979, Aust. J. Zool., 27: 699–708, reported on karyology. Cyclorana was omitted from the Myobatrachidae by Heyer and Liem, 1976, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 233: 11, thereby implying transfer to the Hylidae; transferred formally by Tyler, 1978, Amph. S. Aust.: XXX. See Czechura, Ingram, and Liem, 1987, Rec. Aust. Mus., 39: 338, for systematics of Australian populations of former NyctimystesFrost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 205, considered Cyclorana as a monophyletic subgenus of Litoria, and placed Nyctimystes into the synonymy of Litoria because of the former's polyphyly and the latter's paraphyly (see below). Reynolds, 2012, Herpetofauna, Sydney, 40: 96–101, provided an identification table for ground hylids of northern Australia. Young, Christian, Donnellan, Tracy, and Parry, 2005, Physiol. Biochem. Zool., 78: 847–856, provided molecular evidence for the polyphyly of "Cyclorana" but did not include any members of Nyctimystes, thereby demonstrating, yet again, the non-monophyly of the group as then constructed. Richards and Donnellan, 2020, in Louys et al. (eds.), Rec. Aust. Mus., 5, 72: 325–337, suggested that the Litoria iris group is unlikely to be monophyletic. 

Contained taxa (114 sp.):

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