Wollumbin pouched frog
Scientific classification Edit this 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.[1][2]

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.[3] As with A. darlingtoni, it shares the unusual parental care where male individuals carry developing tadpoles in subcutaneous pouches on their hips. Due to its very small distribution, it has been recommended the species be classified as Critically Endangered.[2][3][4]

References

  1. ↑ "Assa wollumbin Mahony, Hines, Mahony, Moses, Catalano, Myers, and Donnellan, 2021". Amphibian Species of the World.
  2. 1 2 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.
  3. 1 2 Mahony, Stephen (24 June 2022). "Unravelling the frog diversity of Gondwanan rainforests". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  4. ↑ "Assa wollumbin". www.frogid.net.au. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
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