List of Australian Amphibian Genera edit
About 230 of the world's known 5,280 species of frog occur in Australia. Compared with other countries this number is fairly low and may be related to the aridity of most of the Australian continent. Dispite the lack of species there is a great diversity of habitats that is seen among Australian frogs. Variations in rainfall, temperature, altitude and latitude have resulted in a large number of habitats, many of which Australian species inhabit.
During the 1980's declines were reported in Australian frog species. Many of the frogs that were reported as declining were high altitude creek dwelling species that had little or no contact with human activities. This indicated that habitat loss and degredation were not responsible for all the declines. The causes for the dramatic declines is unknown but the chytrid fungus may be a factor. Currently three Australian species of frogs are classified as extinct, 14 listed as critically endangered and 18 listed as endangered. Of the 14 critically extinct species 4 of them haven't been recorded for over 15 years and may now be extinct.
The Australian frog fauna are broken up into 5 families, 6 sub-families and 26 genera.
- Bufonidae - In Australia there is only one species in this family. The Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) is an introduced pest that was brought from Hawaii in 1935 and set free in serveral locations thoughout Queensland.
- Hylidae - In Australia this family consists of three genera; Cyclorana, Litoria and Nyctimystes. Cyclorana is a genus of frog that occurs only in Australia. Litoria occurs thoughout Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, Lesser Sunda Islands, Moluccan Islands, New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor. Nyctimystes is principally a New Guinea genus but they do occur on the Moluccan Islands and Australia.
- Microhylidae - This family consists of two genera in Australia; Austrochaperina and Cophixalus most of the species in both these genera inhabit New Guinea with serveral occuring in Australia.
- Myobatrachidae - This family is only found in Australia and New Guinea, with the vast majority of species occuring in Australia.
- Ranidae - This family is found on every continent except Antarctica and is represented with a sole species in Australia, the Australian Wood Frog.
| Bufonidae - 1 sub-family, 1 genus, 1 species | ||||
| Genus | Common Names | Example Species | Example Photo | Australian Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bufo Laurenti, 1768 |
True toads | Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) | 
| |
| Hylidae - 1 sub-family, 3 genera, 81 species | ||||
| Genus | Common Names | Example Species | Example Photo | Australian Range |
| Cyclorana Steindachner, 1867 |
Water holding frogs | Striped Burrowing Frog (Cyclorana alboguttata) | - | 
|
| Litoria Tschudi, 1838 |
Tree frogs | White's Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea) | _crop.jpg)
| |
| Nyctimystes Stejneger, 1916 |
Big eyed tree frogs | Australian Lace-lid (Nyctimystes dayi ) | - | 
|
| Microhylidae - 1 sub-family, 2 genera, 18 species | ||||
| Genus | Common Name | Example Species | Example Photo | Australian Range |
| Austrochaperina Fry, 1912 |
Nursery frogs | Fry's Frog (Austrochaperina fryi) | - | 
|
| Cophixalus Boettger, 1892 |
Rainforest frogs | Scanty Frog (Cophixalus exiguus) | - | 
|
| Myobatrachidae - 3 sub-families, 20 genera, 122 species (3 extinct) | ||||
| Genus | Common Name | Example Species | Example Photo | Australian Range |
| Adelotus Ogilby, 1907 |
Tusked Frog | Tusked Frog (Adelotus brevis) |  |
|
| Arenophryne Tyler, 1976 |
Sandhill Frog | Sandhill Frog (Arenophryne rotunda) | - | 
|
| Assa Tyler, 1972 |
Pouched Frog | Pouched Frog (Assa darlingtoni) |  |
|
| Crinia Tschudi, 1838 |
Australian froglets | Common Eastern Froglet (Crinia signifera) |  |
|
| Geocrinia Blake, 1973 |
Ground froglets | Smooth Frog (Geocrinia laevis) | - | 
|
| Heleioporus Gray, 1841 |
Giant burrowing frogs | Giant Burrowing Frog (Heleioporus australiacus) | .jpg) |
|
| Lechriodus Boulenger, 1882 |
Cannibal frogs | Fletcher's Frog (Lechriodus fletcheri) |  |
|
| Limnodynastes Fitzinger, 1843 |
Australian swamp frogs | Ornate Burrowing Frog (Limnodynastes ornatus) |  |
|
| Metacrinia Parker, 1940 |
Nicholls' Toadlet | Nicholls' Toadlet (Metacrinia nichollsi) | - | 
|
| Mixophyes Günther, 1864 |
Barred frogs | Fleay's Barred Frog (Mixophyes fleayi) |  |
|
| Myobatrachus Tyler, 1976 |
Turtle Frog | Turtle Frog (Myobatrachus gouldii) | - | 
|
| Neobatrachus Peters, 1863 |
Stubby frogs | Painted Frog (Neobatrachus pictus) | - | 
|
| Notaden Günther, 1873 |
Australian spadefoot toads | Crucifix Toad (Notaden bennettii) | - | 
|
| Paracrinia Heyer and Liem, 1976 |
Haswell's Froglet | Haswell's Froglet (Paracrinia haswelii) |  |
|
| Philoria Spencer, 1901 |
Mountain frogs | Baw Baw Frog (Philoria frosti) | - | 
|
| Pseudophryne Tyler, 1976 |
Toadlets or Brood frogs | Red-crowned Toadlet (Pseudophryne australis) |  |
|
| Rheobatrachus Liem, 1973 |
Gastric brooding frogs | Southern Gastric Brooding Frog (Rheobatrachus silus) | - | 
|
| Spicospina Roberts, Horwitz, Wardell-Johnson, Maxson, and Mahony, 1997 |
Sunset Frog | Sunset Frog (Spicospina flammocaerulea) | - | 
|
| Taudactylus Straughan and Lee, 1966 |
Torrent frogs | Eungella Torrent Frog (Taudactylus eungellensis) | - | 
|
| Uperoleia Gray, 1841 |
Australian toadlets | Smooth Toadlet (Uperoleia laevigata) | 
| |
| Ranidae - 1 sub-family, 1 genus, 1 species | ||||
| Family | Common Names | Example Species | Example Photo | Australian Range |
| Rana Linnaeus, 1758 |
True frogs | Australian Wood Frog (Rana daemeli) | - | 
|