Litoria is a genus of Hylidae tree frogs native to Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Moluccan Islands, and Timor. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Australasian treefrogs. In Australia, some of these species are either facing an extremely high risk of extinction, or have numbers which decreased (or will) by 80% within three generations, or may even be extinct. Examples are listed below.
- Booroolong Frog (Litoria booroolongensis) Found right through New South Wales, this frog is found only in streams of the western Great Dividing Range. This species was once abundant in streams above about 200 m, until drastic declines began to occur in the Northern Tablelands in northern New South Wales. The introduction of fish, such as trout, and the chytrid fungus are believed to be the main causes for decline.
= Yellow-spotted Tree Frog (Litoria castanea) is a critically endangered species of frog that is endemic to southeastern Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and ponds.
- Armoured Frog (Litoria lorica). This wet tropics tree frog was rediscovered in 2008 in a tiny population on the Atherton Tablelands. This species was first discovered in 1976 and is known from four localities: Alexandra Creek, Hilda Creek (Cape Tribulation NP), Roaring Meg Cascades, and Mossman Bluff Creek (Daintree NP), north-eastern Queensland—between 640 and 1,000 m (2,100 and 3,300 ft) in altitude—and the historical extent of the species only was 120 km2 (46 sq mi). Despite once being relatively common, the armoured frog has fallen in to rapid decline, and was not seen from 1991 until 2008, when a small population was rediscovered and confirmed to be of this species.
- Kuranda Tree Frog (Litoria myola). Another tree frog from the wet tropics, this species is found in patches around Cairns.
- Mountain Mistfrog (Litoria nyakalensis). This frog from the wet tropics was last recorded in 1990.
- Peppered Tree Frog (Litoria piperata). This species was formerly known from five streams at elevations of 800-1120 m draining east in the Northern Tablelands of NSW from Gibraltar Range in the north to Armidale in the south. After searches in these streams and adjacent areas, this species has not be located in the wild since the 1970s.
- Spotted Tree Frog (Litoria spenceri). A frog from the rocky gullies of the southern Great Dividing Range. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and rivers.
Sources: This website and Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litoria
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