Parachuting frog
Parachuting frog | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Hylidae |
Genus: | Nyctimystes |
Species: | N. pterodactyla |
Binomial name | |
Nyctimystes pterodactyla (Oliver, Richards, and Donnellan, 2019) | |
Synonyms | |
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The parachuting frog (Nyctimystes pterodactyla), or pale-eyed parachuting tree frog, is a species of frog found in New Guinea.[1] It is in the Nyctimystes gramineus complex with the Pinocchio frog and montane Pinocchio frog.[2][3]
The frog uses its webbed toes to steer when it jumps out of trees, like a human in a parachute. As of 2019, scientists had only seen the parachuting frog once.[3] 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 other species found nearby, the Pinocchio frog and montane Pinocchio frog.[4]
The scientific name of this frog, pterodactyla, means "wings on its fingers" and comes from Latin.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Nyctimystes pterodactyla (Oliver, Richards, and Donnellan, 2019)". American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "Litoria pterodactyla". Amphibiaweb. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c 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.