How bushfire helped us discover native frog we never knew existed
Researchers have discovered a new species of mountain frog in the rainforests along the Queensland-New South Wales border, with the frogs not only surviving devastating bushfires two years ago, but the male frogs’ handily crafted “breeding chambers” helping the species persist and multiply.
The new mountainfrog species, Philoria knowlesi, is classified as endangered and is believed to only be found in the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area.
Ongoing park management will now be stepped up to protect the mountainfrogs’ unique habitat, with the discovery of the new frog and the clever handywork by the males of the species to create a playpen that keeps tadpoles safe emerging as a small beacon of hope in the wake of the bushfire tragedy.
About 46 per cent, or 27,065 hectares, of the Queensland section of the Gondwana Rainforests was impacted by the 2019–2020 bushfires.
The team that discovered the new mountainfrog included researchers from the Department of Environment and Science (DES), Southern Cross University, the University of Newcastle, CSIRO and the South Australian Museum.
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The frog itself varies in colour and pattern and is confined to upland rainforests along the Queensland border.
It breeds in spring and early summer, in small bogs, seepages and banks of headwater streams.
During mating season, the males create a small breeding chamber in wet areas and the tadpoles develop entirely within this chamber.
DES Senior Conservation Office Harry Hines said staff had for years carried out targeted surveys searching for the mountainfrogs in the Mount Barney area, collecting specimens and genetic samples and recording the frog’s mating calls.
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“Over the past 16 years we have gathered DNA samples and determined these populations are actually genetically distinct, and warrant being regarded as a new species,” he said.
SCU research Dr David Newell said the frog’s only known habitat, the Gondwana Rainforest of Australia World Heritage Area, had one of the most diverse ecosystems in Australia.
“The rainforests of Mt Barney National Park in Queensland and the adjacent Mt Nothofagus National Park in New South Wales have special significance in the evolution of Australia’s biota, and this is why they are enshrined as part of the Gondwana Rainforest of Australia World Heritage Area,” Newell said.
“This new species of frog belongs to a lineage only found in upland rainforest communities.
“There are currently seven known species of mountainfrog, six of which are found only in the Gondwana rainforest area. Most are confined to the very headwaters of mountain streams and a key threat to their survival is climate change. As these habitats warm, these frogs literally will have nowhere else to go,” Newell said.
