Just discovered frog species already in hot water

Australian scientists have identified 2 new species of whirring tree frogs in northern Queensland, which are already being pushed to the limits of their habitable ranges by the impacts of climate change.

According to Michael Mahony, emeritus professor at the University of Newcastle and co-author of a study describing the new species, “the frogs are literally running out of space.”

“The mantra of ‘adapt or perish’ doesn’t equally apply across species,” says Mahony.

“Isolated on mountaintops, with climate models predicting warmer and drier conditions, they have nowhere left to go.”

Before now, the 3 distinct populations of whirring tree frogs were thought to be one species.

They look incredibly similar, with yellow-brown bodies and red patches behind their legs. But genetic analysis and subtle differences in their mating calls confirmed the species have been evolving separately for at least 1.2 million years.

Luke Price from South Australian Museum, who undertook the research as an honours student at the University of Newcastle, proposes that “…[whirring tree frogs] must once have occupied wet forest habitats that were interconnected along the Great Dividing Range from north-eastern NSW to the Atherton Tablelands at a time of cooler and moister climate than we experience at present.”

They developed into distinct species, known a speciation, as they became geographically isolated from each other over time.

Now, the Eungella whirring treefrog (Litoria eungellensis) is found in just 20km² in the cool mountan temperature forest of Queensland’s Eungella Range, only above 900m elevation.

The Atherton Tablelands whirring treefrog (Litoria corbeni) lives nearly 800km away in the high-altitude rainforests of south-west of Cairns.

The third species, Litoria revelata is more widespread, found in New South Wales and southeastern Queensland.

“The Eungella Whirring Frog now holds the unenviable title of one of Australia’s top 10 frogs with the smallest natural range,” says Price.

“The species is restricted to an isolated patch of high elevation cool rainforest habitat [suggesting] that it is already living at its biological limits, and with climate warming the species has nowhere to expand or migrate.” 

“Species confined to such tiny areas face immense risks – from wildfires to pollution events. One catastrophic event could wipe them out entirely.”

The research appears in the journal Zootaxa.