Parachuting frog
The parachuting frog or pale-eyed parachuting tree frog (Litoria pterodactyla) is a frog from the island of New Guinea.[1] It is related to the Pinocchio frog and montane Pinocchio frog.[2][3][4]
| Parachuting frog | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Pelodryadidae |
| Genus: | Litoria |
| Species: | L. pterodactyla
|
| Binomial name | |
| Litoria pterodactyla Oliver, Richards, and Donnellan, 2019
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| Synonyms | |
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The frog uses its webbed toes to steer when it jumps out of trees, like a human in a parachute. One of the scientists who saw the frog, Paul Oliver of the Queensland Museum, said, "It's a big green frog with lots of webbing on its toes. They live high in the forest canopy and if they want to move they will just jump into the air and they spread their fingers and toes, and then they can control their descent."[2]
As of 2019, scientists only saw the parachuting frog once.[4] They found it in the Muller mountain range, 515 meters above sea level.[1] The scientists used DNA barcoding to examine the parachuting frog and its relatives, the Pinocchio frog and montane Pinocchio frog.[5]
The Latin name of this frog, pterodactyla, means "wings on its fingers."[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Nyctimystes pterodactyla (Oliver, Richards, and Donnellan, 2019)". American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 CGTN (August 3, 2019). "Aussie researchers discover 'parachuting frog' in remote jungles". CGTN. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ↑ "Litoria pterodactyla". Amphibiaweb. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Carley Rosengreen (June 7, 2019). "Frog discoveries have scientists hopping". Griffith University. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ↑ Paul Oliver; Stephen J. Richards; Stephen C. Donnellan (2019). "Two new species of treefrog (Pelodrydidae: Litoria) from southern New Guinea elucidated by DNA barcoding". Zootaxa (abstract). 4609 (3): 469. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4609.3.4. PMID 31717094. S2CID 182921660. Retrieved July 9, 2020.