Rheobatrachus vitellinus
Rheobatrachus vitellinus, commonly called northern gastric-brooding frog, is a extinct species of gastric-brooding frog native to Australia.
| Rheobatrachus vitellinus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Myobatrachidae |
| Genus: | †Rheobatrachus |
| Species: | †R. vitellinus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Rheobatrachus vitellinus (Mahony, Tyler & Davies, 1984) | |
Distribution
The northern gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus vitellinus) was discovered in 1984 by Michael Mahony.[2] It was restricted to the rainforest areas of the Clarke Range in Eungella National Park and the adjacent Pelion State Forest in central eastern Queensland. This species, too, was confined to a small area – less than 500 km2 (190 sq mi),[3] at altitudes of 400–1,000 m (1,300–3,300 ft).[4] A year after its discovery, it was never seen again despite extensive efforts to locate it.[5] This species is considered to be extinct.
Description
The northern gastric-brooding frog was a much larger species than the southern gastric-brooding frog. Males reached 50–53 mm (2.0–2.1 in) in length, and females 66–79 mm (2.6–3.1 in) in length. This species was also much darker in colour, usually pale brown, and like the southern gastric-brooding frogs its skin was bumpy and had a slimy mucus coating. There were vivid yellow blotches on the abdomen and the underside of the arms and legs. The rest of the belly was white or grey in colour. The tympanum was hidden and the iris was dark brown. The body shape of the northern gastric-brooding frog was very similar to the southern species.
Ecology and behaviour
The northern gastric-brooding frog was only recorded in pristine rainforests where the only form of human disturbance was poorly defined walking tracks. As with the southern gastric-brooding frog, the northern gastric-brooding frog was also a largely aquatic species. They were found in and around the shallow sections of fast flowing creeks and streams where individuals were located in shallow, rocky, broken-water areas, in cascades, riffles and trickles.[3] The water in these streams was cool and clear, and the frogs hid away beneath or between boulders in the current or in backwaters.
Male northern gastric-brooding frogs called from the water's edge during summer. The call was loud, consisting of several staccato notes. It was similar to the southern gastric-brooding frog's call although deeper, shorter and repeated less often.
The northern gastric-brooding frog was observed feeding on caddisfly larvae and terrestrial and aquatic beetles as well as the Eungella torrent frog (Taudactylus eungellensis).[6]
De-extinction attempt
Scientists are making progress in their efforts to bring the gastric-brooding frog species back to life using somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a method of cloning.[7]
In March 2013, Australian scientists successfully created a living embryo from non-living preserved genetic material. These scientists from the University of Newcastle Australia led by Prof Michael Mahony, who was the scientist who first discovered the northern gastric-brooding frog, Simon Clulow and Prof Mike Archer from the University of New South Wales hope to continue using somatic-cell nuclear transfer methods to produce an embryo that can survive to the tadpole stage. "We do expect to get this guy hopping again," says UNSW researcher Mike Archer.[8]
The scientists from the University of Newcastle have also reported successful freezing and thawing (cryopreservation) of totipotent amphibian embryonic cells,[9] which along with sperm cryopreservation[10] provides the essential "proof of concept" for the use of cryostorage as a genome bank for threatened amphibians and also other animals.
References
- IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Rheobatrachus vitellinus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2022: e.T19476A78430385.
- Mahony, Michael; Tyler, Davies (1984). "A new species of the genus Rheobatrachus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from Queensland". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 108 (3): 155–162.
- McDonald, K.R. (1990). "Rheobatrachus Liem and Taudactylus Straughan & Lee (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in Eungella National Park, Queensland: distribution and decline". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 114 (4): 187–194.
- Covacevich, J.A.; McDonald, K. R. (1993). "Distribution and conservation of frogs and reptiles of Queensland rainforests". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 34 (1): 189–199.
- McDonald, Keith; Alford, Ross (1999). Campbell, Alastair (ed.). "A Review of Declining Frogs in Northern Queensland". Declines and Disappearances of Australian Frogs. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- Winter, J.; McDonald, K. (1986). "Eungella, the land of cloud". Australian Natural History. 22 (1): 39–43.
- Nosowitz, Dan (15 March 2013) Scientists Resurrect Bonkers Extinct Frog That Gives Birth Through Its Mouth. popsci.com
- Messenger, Stephen (15 March 2013) Scientists successfully create living embryo of an extinct species. treehugger.com
- Moreira, Nei; Lawson, Bianca; Clulow, Simon; Mahony, Michael J.; Clulow, John (2013). "Towards gene banking amphibian maternal germ lines: short-term incubation, cryoprotectant tolerance and cryopreservation of embryonic cells of the frog, Limnodynastes peronii". PLOS ONE. 8 (4): e60760. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...860760L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060760. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3618038. PMID 23577155.
- Browne, Robert; Mahony, Clulow (2002). "A comparison of sucrose, saline, and saline with egg-yolk diluents on the cryopreservation of cane toad (Bufo marinus) sperm". Cryobiology. 44 (251–157): 251–7. doi:10.1016/S0011-2240(02)00031-7. PMID 12237090.
Bibliography
- Barker, J.; Grigg, G. C.; Tyler, M. J. (1995): A Field Guide to Australian Frogs. Surrey Beatty & Sons.
- Pough, F. H.; Andrews, R. M.; Cadle, J. E.; Crump, M.; Savitsky, A. H. & Wells, K. D. (2003): Herpetology (3rd ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
- Ryan, M. (ed.) (2003): Wildlife of Greater Brisbane. Queensland Museum, Brisbane.
- Ryan, M. & Burwell, C. (eds.) (2003): Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland. Queensland Museum, Brisbane.
- Tyler, M. J. (1984): There's a frog in my throat/stomach. William Collins Pty Ltd, Sydney. ISBN 0-00-217321-2
- Tyler, M. J. (1994): Australian Frogs – A Natural History. Reed Books.
- Zug, G. E.; Vitt, L. J. & Caldwell, J. P. (2001): Herpetology (2nd ed.). Academic Press, San Diego, California.