The biology of species of the genus Pseudophryne (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

Abstract

Most of the recent studies on Australian amphibia have been on species occurring in south-western Australia. These studies include work on speciation within various genera, principally Crinia (Main, 1957; Main et al., 1958; Littlejohn, 1959), the behavioural and physiological adaptations of desert-inhabiting species (Bentley et al., 1958; Main et al., 1959; Main and Bentley, 1964; Packer, 1963) and general biology (Calaby, 1956, 1960; Main, 1965; Main and Calaby, 1957). In contrast, the eastern Australian species have been little studied since the early work of Fletcher (1889, 1890, and subsequent papers) and of Harrison (1922). Recently, Moore (1961) and Jacobson (1962, 1963) have dealt with certain aspects of the biology, specially embryological development, of eastern New South Wales species. Littlejohn and Martin have reported on the natural history of a number of species found in Victoria (Littlejohn, 1963; Martin, 1965) in addition to their studies on speciation (Littlejohn, 1964, 1965; Littlejohn and Martin, 1964, 1965). Despite all these studies, much remains to be known about the ecology of any one species or a group of species.