70
A. R. BUIN
(ii) The Crinia georgianu group of speciee. Eggs are laid in water where embryonic and larval development is of the orthodox type. On the whole the
species of this group occupy drier habitats than speciea of the first group.
On Parker’s key to Crinia (1940: 73), C. acutirostris Andemon belongs with the C. geotgiana group. However, C. acutirostris has a
“T-shaped” terminal phalange and belongs in the genus TauductyZus
Straughan and Lee (1966). (See Straughan and Main, 1966.)
Of the others in Parker’s key, C. georgiana and C. gkwrti proved to
be morphologically distinct and good biological species (see later).
Moore (1 954), using experimental methods, showed that there waa no
basis for recognising three subspecies of C. signifera. Further work has
shown C . signifera to be a ctomplex of no less than eight sibling species.
Analysis of the physical characteristics of the male breeding calls of
some of these siblings is given in Littlejohn (1958, 1959, 1961) and
Littlejohn and Martin (1964, 1966). Indications are that there are a
further two unnamed species from Northern Australia hitherto included
in C. signifera.
Aa with other genera the analysis of Crinia prooeeded by identifying
the call of the breeding male. Initially work waa done only in W e s t e r n
Australia but because of the interest aroused by the findings there, a
number of visits have been made to eaatern Australia to study the
problem further. Consequently there is now a large mass of data which
are presented in the following way:
1. Those species recognised by Parker (1940) (C. georgiana, C. glauerti
and C. signifera).
(i) C. georgianu. The different concepts held by Parker (1940) and
Loveridge (1935) as to what was C. georgiana have been discussed by
Main (195713: 31-33) and settled w follows: all frogs having red colouring in the groin and on the thigh have a similar call (like the quacking
of a duck) which is unlike the call of any other species of Ctinia.
Hybridisation experiments between specimens ‘coloured &B above
from localities up to 250 miles apart showed no statistically significant
difference between the viability of the experimental compared with the
control aeries of crosses. These results showed an invariable aesociation
of one male breeding call with red-thighed frogs from which it was
concluded that there was only one species of red-thighed frog in
Western Australia - Crinia georgiana Tschudi.
Three crosses were made using eggs from three female C. gemgiana
and sperm from three male C. tacmutniensi8. A total of 71 eggs were used
and only one cleaved but developed no further.
These crosses indicate that C. georgiana is not conspecific nor even
closely related to C. tasmaniensis.
(ii) C. glauerti. Frogs taken from the type locality (Mundaring Weir)
A. R. BUIN
(ii) The Crinia georgianu group of speciee. Eggs are laid in water where embryonic and larval development is of the orthodox type. On the whole the
species of this group occupy drier habitats than speciea of the first group.
On Parker’s key to Crinia (1940: 73), C. acutirostris Andemon belongs with the C. geotgiana group. However, C. acutirostris has a
“T-shaped” terminal phalange and belongs in the genus TauductyZus
Straughan and Lee (1966). (See Straughan and Main, 1966.)
Of the others in Parker’s key, C. georgiana and C. gkwrti proved to
be morphologically distinct and good biological species (see later).
Moore (1 954), using experimental methods, showed that there waa no
basis for recognising three subspecies of C. signifera. Further work has
shown C . signifera to be a ctomplex of no less than eight sibling species.
Analysis of the physical characteristics of the male breeding calls of
some of these siblings is given in Littlejohn (1958, 1959, 1961) and
Littlejohn and Martin (1964, 1966). Indications are that there are a
further two unnamed species from Northern Australia hitherto included
in C. signifera.
Aa with other genera the analysis of Crinia prooeeded by identifying
the call of the breeding male. Initially work waa done only in W e s t e r n
Australia but because of the interest aroused by the findings there, a
number of visits have been made to eaatern Australia to study the
problem further. Consequently there is now a large mass of data which
are presented in the following way:
1. Those species recognised by Parker (1940) (C. georgiana, C. glauerti
and C. signifera).
(i) C. georgianu. The different concepts held by Parker (1940) and
Loveridge (1935) as to what was C. georgiana have been discussed by
Main (195713: 31-33) and settled w follows: all frogs having red colouring in the groin and on the thigh have a similar call (like the quacking
of a duck) which is unlike the call of any other species of Ctinia.
Hybridisation experiments between specimens ‘coloured &B above
from localities up to 250 miles apart showed no statistically significant
difference between the viability of the experimental compared with the
control aeries of crosses. These results showed an invariable aesociation
of one male breeding call with red-thighed frogs from which it was
concluded that there was only one species of red-thighed frog in
Western Australia - Crinia georgiana Tschudi.
Three crosses were made using eggs from three female C. gemgiana
and sperm from three male C. tacmutniensi8. A total of 71 eggs were used
and only one cleaved but developed no further.
These crosses indicate that C. georgiana is not conspecific nor even
closely related to C. tasmaniensis.
(ii) C. glauerti. Frogs taken from the type locality (Mundaring Weir)