Southern corroboree frog

Species of amphibian

Southern corroboree frog

Conservation status

Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Amphibia
Order:  | Anura
Family:  | Myobatrachidae
Genus:  | Pseudophryne
Species:  |

P. corroboree

Binomial name
Pseudophryne corroboree

Moore, 1953

The southern corroboree frog (Pseudophryne corroboree) is a species of Australian ground frog native to southeastern Australia.[2][3]

The species was described in 1953 by Fulbright research scholar John A. Moore from a specimen collected at Towong Hill Station at Corryong, Victoria, and sent to the Australian Museum. The curator, Roy Kinghorn, recognised it as a new species and allowed Moore to describe it.[4]

## Description

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Adult female southern corroboree frogs are 26–31 mm (1.0–1.2 in) long, while males measure 22–29 mm (0.87–1.14 in);[5] both bear vivid yellow and black stripes across the head, back, and limbs. The body and head are short and wide, the snout has a slight point, and the fingers and toes lack webbing. The iris is black.[6] The northern corroboree frog has narrower and more greenish-yellow striping.[5]

## Habitat and conservation

[edit]

The southern corroboree frog is native to Kosciuszko National Park in the northern Snowy Mountains, where it found at locales between the Maragle Range and Smiggin Holes.[7] Reported as abundant during the 1970s,[6] it declined drastically during the 1980s from chytridiomycosis.[8] The species are critically endangered,[1] with the wild population thought to number around 30 individuals.[9] The natural habitat is sphagnum bog at elevations greater than 1,200 m (3,900 ft).[6]

Efforts to conserve the species have included establishing captive breeding programs across four institutions: the Amphibian Research Centre in 1997, Melbourne Zoo in 2001, Taronga Zoo in 2006, and Healesville Sanctuary in 2007.[8] By 2018, there were over 400 southern corroboree frogs in zoos.[10]

Five breeding enclosures have established in Kosciuszko National Park. Two-thirds of the frogs in these perished in the 2019–20 Australian bushfires. In 2022, a further 100 frogs were released from captive breeding programs.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Jean-Marc Hero; Frank Lemckert; Peter Robertson; Harold Cogger & Murray Littlejohn (2004). "Pseudophryne corroboree". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T18582A8484537. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
2. ^ Australian Biological Resources Study (20 March 2013). "Species Pseudophryne corroboree Moore, 1953". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
3. ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2022). "Pseudophryne corroboree Moore, 1953". Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.1. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
4. ^ Moore, J. A. (1953). "A new species of Pseudophryne from Victoria". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 78 (3–4): 179–180.3–4&rft.pages=179-180&rft.date=1953&rft.aulast=Moore&rft.aufirst=J.+A.&rft_id=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34949149&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Southern+corroboree+frog" class="Z3988">
5. ^ a b Tyler, Michael (2020). Field Guide to the Frogs of Australia. CSIRO Publishing. p. 144\. ISBN 9781486312474.
6. ^ a b c Swan, Michael (2020). Frogs and Reptiles of the Murray-Darling Basin A Guide to Their Identification, Ecology and Conservation. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 41, 67. ISBN 9781486311330.
7. ^ Office of the Environment & Heritage (7 June 2021). "Southern Corroboree Frog - profile". Threatened Species. Australian Government. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
8. ^ a b Mcfadden, Michael; Hobbs, Raelene; Marantelli, Gerry; Harlow, Peter; Banks, Chris; Hunter, David (2011). "Captive management and breeding of the Critically Endangered Southern Corroboree Frog (Pseudophryne corroboree) (Moore 1953) at Taronga and Melbourne Zoos". Amphibian & Reptile Conservation. 5 (3): 70–87.70-87&rft.date=2011&rft.aulast=Mcfadden&rft.aufirst=Michael&rft.au=Hobbs,+Raelene&rft.au=Marantelli,+Gerry&rft.au=Harlow,+Peter&rft.au=Banks,+Chris&rft.au=Hunter,+David&rft_id=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/178794&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Southern+corroboree+frog" class="Z3988">
9. ^ a b Proust, Keira (30 March 2022). "Critically endangered southern corroboree frog conservation efforts ramp up". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
10. ^ Garnett, Stephen; Woinarski, John; Lindenmayer, David; Latch, Peter (2018). Recovering Australian Threatened Species: A Book of Hope. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 281–284\. ISBN 9781486307425.281-284&rft.pub=CSIRO+Publishing&rft.date=2018&rft.isbn=9781486307425&rft.aulast=Garnett&rft.aufirst=Stephen&rft.au=Woinarski,+John&rft.au=Lindenmayer,+David&rft.au=Latch,+Peter&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdFNDwAAQBAJ&pg;=PA281&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Southern+corroboree+frog" class="Z3988">

Taxon identifiers

Pseudophryne corroboree|

* Wikidata: Q2296149
* Wikispecies: Pseudophryne corroboree
* AFD: Pseudophryne_corroboree
* AmphibiaWeb: 3585
* ARKive: pseudophryne-corroboree
* ASW: Pseudophryne-corroboree
* CoL: 4P7G4
* EoL: 331048
* GBIF: 2424573
* iNaturalist: 66981
* IRMNG: 10286634
* ITIS: 774915
* IUCN: 18582
* NCBI: 495146
* Observation.org: 205267
* Open Tree of Life: 3618642
* SPRAT: 1915