TWO NEW SPECIES OF DESERT BURROWING FROGS OF THE GENUS NEOBATRACHUS (ANURA MYOBATRACHIDAE) FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 1 decade ago

Abstract
Species of the genus Neobatrachus are an important part of the frog fauna of Western Australia, occurring in the sub-humid, semi-arid and arid zones. They are desert burrowing frogs with very similar external morphology, and without mating call data they are difficult to distinguish. Two new species of Neobatrachus, N. fuluus and N. kunapalari, are described from Western Australia. Specimens of these species previously have been misidentified as N. centralis (Parker). The two new species can be distinguished by the structure of the inner metatarsal tubercle and the attachment of the skin between the legs and flank of the body. In N. fuluus the inner metatarsal tubercle is rectangular shaped with rounded edges, and the skin of the flank extends across to the knee so that the groin is not distinct. In N. kunapalari the tubercle is semi-circular in shape and the skin extends only slightly from the side of the body to encompass the groin. N. fuluus is diploid (2n = 24) and N. kunapalari tetraploid (4n = 48). Differences in chromosome morphology enable these species to be distinguished from diploid and tetraploid congeners. Mating calls are a soft trill in these species. Differences in pulse number and rate enable N. kunapalari to be distinguished from congeners in the same geographic range. The mating call of N. fuluus differs from the only other species of Neobatrachus sutor) that is found in the same geographic region, but its call is very similar to a number of other species of Neobatrachus.