Wollumbin pouched frog
Species of frog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Assa wollumbin, the Wollumbin pouched frog or Mount Wollumbin hip-pocket frog, is a species of small, terrestrial frog endemic to New South Wales, Australia. It is restricted to the slopes of Mount Warning (Wollumbin), where it inhabits rainforest habitat.[2][3]
| Wollumbin pouched frog | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Myobatrachidae |
| Genus: | Assa |
| Species: | A. wollumbin |
| Binomial name | |
| Assa wollumbin | |
Previously considered a population of the pouched frog (A. darlingtoni), which was thought to be the only species in the genus, it was described as a new species in 2021 following a rangewide genetic analysis of A. darlingtoni, which found the Wollumbin population to be sufficiently genetically distinct; it is also physically smaller than A. darlingtoni. Despite its distinctiveness, it is separated from populations of A. darlingtoni by only 15 kilometres (9.3 mi); in relation to the ancient Tweed Volcano, A. darlingtoni inhabits the former caldera wall while A. wollumbin inhabits the former volcanic plug that is now Mt. Wollumbin.[4] As with A. darlingtoni, it shares the unusual parental care where male individuals carry developing tadpoles in subcutaneous pouches on their hips.[3][4][5]
As of September 2023[update], it was classified as "Critically Endangered" under the EPBC Act.[1]