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Type: Article
Published: 2021-02-19
Page range: 211–240
Abstract views: 179
PDF downloaded: 18

Revision of the Litoria watjulumensis (Anura: Pelodryadidae) group from the Australian monsoonal tropics, including the resurrection of L. spaldingi

South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, 5000, Australia. School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia.
South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Bioinformatics Hub, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia.
School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia. Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia.
South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia.
Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, 49 Kew St, Welshpool, 6106, Australia.
South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, 5000, Australia. Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory, GPO Box 4646, Darwin, 0801, Australia.
Amphibia frog mitochondrial DNA phylogeny species systematics

Abstract

We show that the Wotjulum frog, Litoria watjulumensis (Copland, 1957), comprises two deeply divergent mitochondrial DNA lineages that are also reciprocally monophyletic for a nuclear gene locus and have discrete distributions. The taxa are differentiated in multivariate analysis of shape but show no appreciable differences in colour and pattern. The two taxa differ substantially in the degree of female biased sexual size dimorphism, with the western taxon showing considerably more pronounced dimorphism. We subsequently resurrect Litoria (Hyla) spaldingi (Hosmer, 1964) for populations from east of the Daly River system in the Northern Territory through to western Queensland and restrict L. watjulumensis to populations from the Kimberley region of north-western Australia and the Victoria River system of the western Northern Territory. The complex advertisement call of L. spaldingi is described for the first time.

 

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