A new species of Arenophryne (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the central coast of Western AustraliaWA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 8 years agoABSTRACT – The sand hill frog, Arenophryne rotunda, belongs to a monotypic genus that occurs on the central coast of Western Australia. It has a highly modified body shape with a small head and large front limbs. Members of this species burrows forwards through sand substrates. Here we describe a new species of Arenophryne from the Ceraldton sand plain that occurs to the south of the populations of the type species A. rotunda at Shark Bay. Relative to A. rotunda, the new taxon has a more pointed snout, smaller face and eyes, larger hands, rougher dorsal surface and darker colouration that matches the background colour of the sands on which it occurs. Molecular evidence indicates divergence of the two taxa in the late Miocene to early Pliocene, approximately 5-6 mya. The western coast of Australia has a complex biogeographic history owing to geological activity and changes in sea level interacting with extensive sandy areas. Speciation within Arenophyrne on the coastal dunes of Western Australia indicates that levels of diversity in subterranean groups there may be underestimated owing to conservative fusiform morphology of burrowing animals. Author(s) Paul Doughty and Danielle Edwards Volume Records 24 : Part 2 Article Published 2008 Page Number 121 DOI 10.18195/issn.0312-3162.24(2).2008.121-131 A new species of Arenophryne (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the central coast of Western Australia Download 2.45 MB To request an accessible version of this pdf please email onlineservices@museum.wa.gov.au