Fossils Show That These Ancient Frog Families Split Apart at Least 55 Million Years Ago

Fossils Show That These Ancient Frog Families Split Apart at Least 55 Million Years Ago

Learn more about the lineages of Australian and South American tree frogs, which separated approximately 55 million years ago at the latest, according to a new analysis of fossils.

Earliest tree frog in Australia challenges understanding of divergence with South American species

A fossil of a tree frog is Australia’s oldest, dating to 55 million years ago, challenging previous genetic studies on when Australian species split from their South American cousins. The newly described species, Litoria tylerantiqua, was found at Murgon in southeastern Queensland, on the traditional lands of the Waka Waka people. The species is described in a paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology. L. tylerantiqua is the ear…

Newly discovered frog species from 55 million years ago challenges evolutionary tree

The new species is the earliest known Australian tree frog.

Meet Xenohyla truncata, A Fruit And Nectar Eating Treefrog - Reptiles Magazine

Frogs are usually thought of as carnivores, feeding on everything from insects to fish and reptiles, to small mammals and in the case of the American bullfrog, and perhaps some other larger frog species, small birds. But Brazilian researchers have turned this notion on its head with the little frugivorous frog scientifically named Xenohyla truncata. This Neotropical treefrog, according to researchers, feeds mostly on the fruits of plants, plant …

Earliest Tree Frogs Found At Murgon - southburnett.com.au

An artist’s reconstruction of the new Murgon species, Litoria tylerantiqua, top right, and the previously described Platyplectrum casca, bottom left (Image: Samantha Yabsley) May 15, 2025 Fossils found near Boat Mountain at Murgon have been identified as Australia’s earliest species of tree frog. A study published this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology says the new species, Litoria tylerantiqua, has been dated to about 55 million y…

Australia’s oldest prehistoric tree frog hops 22 million years back in

Scientists have now discovered the oldest ancestor for all the Australian tree frogs, with distant links to the tree frogs of South America. Previously, scientists believed Australian and South American tree frogs separated from each other about 33 million years ago. But Australian researchers say the new species, Litoria tylerantiqua, is now at about 55 million years old, the earliest known member of the pelodryadid family of Australian tree fr…