New Guinea has the most diverse array of tropical island frogs in the world and its mountains and forests are still revealing their secrets.
This month, no less than five new species of frog have been described by scientists from the Queensland and South Australian Museums and Griffith University, who published their results in Zootaxa.
Among the new species is one with a bird-poo-like appearance (above) when young that changes as it matures, and another named for its blood-red belly.
The study's lead author Steven Richards, an honorary researcher with the South Australian Museum, spent the last 30 years collecting the new specimens from Gulf Province and the New Guinea Highlands.
Key points:
- The five newly classified species are all in the genus Littoria and are climbing frogs
- One appears to have developed bird poo mimicry, but changes colour as it matures
- Two species stick their eggs to trees and leaves, which then drop into water as tadpoles
"[Papua New Guinea] is spectacularly beautiful and it's very rugged, so it can be difficult to get into a lot of those sites — it definitely has its challenges," Dr Richards said.
"But when you [have] those spectacular finds, it makes it all worthwhile."
Study co-author Paul Oliver from the Queensland Museum said there are between 530 and 540 known frog species in PNG, but many more that still haven't been scientifically classified.
"We're definitely estimating there are well over 700 frogs, which is basically more than any other tropical island area in the world," Dr Oliver said.
"It leaves Borneo for dead and it's way more than Australia. Australia has got about 250. So it's an insanely diverse frog fauna."
But pictures tell a thousand words. Here in no particular order are our five newly classified amphibian friends.
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Story first published by: ABC news