An update on the status of wet forest stream-dwelling frogs of the Eungella region

Eungella’s wet forests are home to a number of stream-breeding frogs including three species endemic to the Eungella region: the Eungella dayfrog (Taudactylus eungellensis), Eungella tinkerfrog (T. liemi), and northern gastric brooding frog (Rheobatrachus vitellinus). During the mid-1980s, T. eungellensis and R. vitellinus suffered dramatic population declines attributable to amphibian chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd). While surveys in the late 1980s failed to locate T. eungellensis or R. vitellinus, populations of the former were located on a handful of streams surveyed by researchers in the mid-to-late 1990s. Between January 2000 and November 2015, additional surveys targeting these and other wet forest frog species were conducted at 114 sites within Eungella National Park and adjoining areas of State Forest. During these surveys, we located T. eungellensis at many more sites than surveys in the 1990s. Abundances of T. eungellensis at these sites were typically low, however, and well below abundance levels prior to declines in the mid-1980s. As with surveys in the 1990s, T. eungellensis was scarce at high-elevation sites above 600 metres altitude. Numbers of this species do not appear to have increased significantly since the mid-1990s, suggesting recovery of T. eungellensis populations is occurring slowly, at best. In contrast with T. eungellensis, T. liemi was frequently recorded at high-elevation sites, albeit at low densities. As with previous surveys, surveys during 2000–2015 were unsuccessful in locating R. vitellinus. Further frog surveys and monitoring (including disease surveillance) are needed to better assess the status of stream frogs at Eungella, and to understand the influence of Bd on the abundance and distribution of threatened stream-dwelling frogs at Eungella

Gaia white dwarfs within 40 pc I : spectroscopic observations of new candidates

We present a spectroscopic survey of 230 white dwarf candidates within 40 pc of the Sun from the William Herschel Telescope and Gran Telescopio Canarias. All candidates were selected from Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) and in almost all cases had no prior spectroscopic classifications. We find a total of 191 confirmed white dwarfs and 39 main-sequence star contaminants. The majority of stellar remnants in the sample are relatively cool (〈Teff〉 = 6200 K), showing either hydrogen Balmer lines or a featureless spectrum, corresponding to 89 DA and 76 DC white dwarfs, respectively. We also recover two DBA white dwarfs and 9–10 magnetic remnants. We find two carbon-bearing DQ stars and 14 new metal-rich white dwarfs. This includes the possible detection of the first ultra-cool white dwarf with metal lines. We describe three DZ stars for which we find at least four different metal species, including one which is strongly Fe- and Ni-rich, indicative of the accretion of a planetesimal with core-Earth composition. We find one extremely massive (1.31 ± 0.01 M⊙) DA white dwarf showing weak Balmer lines, possibly indicating stellar magnetism. Another white dwarf shows strong Balmer line emission but no infrared excess, suggesting a low-mass sub-stellar companion. High spectroscopic completeness (>99%) has now been reached for Gaia DR2 sources within 40 pc sample, in the northern hemisphere (δ > 0 deg) and located on the white dwarf cooling track in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. A statistical study of the full northern sample is presented in a companion paper

A key to the microhylid frogs of Australia, and new distributional data.

The frog family Microhylidae is represented in Australia by Cophixalus (14 species) and Austrochaperina (5 species). The majority of these species have small rainforest distributions in north-east Queensland, primarily at higher altitude. Research on Australian microhylid frogs is increasing due to recognition of their importance in assessments of biodiversity and evolutionary history of rainforest areas, and due to their predicted susceptibility to global climate change. Accurate species identification is therefore imperative. Most of the Australian species are morphologically very similar, making identification (even between the two genera) difficult. A key to identify all 19 Australian microhylid species is provided, based on a combination of morphology, colour and pattern, calls, and distributions. The key is suitable for use in the field as well as for preserved specimens. Distributional data incorporating new records from recent fieldwork is also presented. Microhylidae, distribution, key, Cophixalus, Austrochaperina, Australia, Wet Tropics

Australian leaf-tailed geckos: phylogeny, a new genus, two new species and other new data

[Extract] Australia's rainforests and adjoining moist sclerophyll forests and heaths are well known for their high diversity and for many species confined to either single localities, or very narrow ranges. Leaf-tailed geckos from such forests well illustrate these characteristics. For nearly 200 years of discovery and description of Australia's reptiles, only two species of 'leaf-tails', Phyllurus platurus (Shaw, 1790) and P. cornutus (Ogilby, 1892) = Saltuarius cornutus (Ogilby, 1892), were known. Morphological studies since 1975 have resulted in the recognition of many new species and the genus Saltuarius Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993 - P. caudiannulatus Covacevich, 1975; P. isis Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993; P. nepthys Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993; P. ossa Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993; S. salebrosus (Covacevich, 1975); Saltuarius occultus Couper, Covacevich &Moritz, 1993 and S. swaini (Wells & Wellington, 1985). Eight of the 12 presently known species have narrow distributions with four confined to single localities

Australian leaf-tailed geckos: phylogeny, a new genus, two new species and other new data

[Extract] Australia's rainforests and adjoining moist sclerophyll forests and heaths are well known for their high diversity and for many species confined to either single localities, or very narrow ranges. Leaf-tailed geckos from such forests well illustrate these characteristics. For nearly 200 years of discovery and description of Australia's reptiles, only two species of 'leaf-tails', Phyllurus platurus (Shaw, 1790) and P. cornutus (Ogilby, 1892) = Saltuarius cornutus (Ogilby, 1892), were known. Morphological studies since 1975 have resulted in the recognition of many new species and the genus Saltuarius Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993 - P. caudiannulatus Covacevich, 1975; P. isis Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993; P. nepthys Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993; P. ossa Couper, Covacevich & Moritz, 1993; S. salebrosus (Covacevich, 1975); Saltuarius occultus Couper, Covacevich &Moritz, 1993 and S. swaini (Wells & Wellington, 1985). Eight of the 12 presently known species have narrow distributions with four confined to single localities

A significant range extension for the Border Ranges Leaf-tailed Gecko, Saltuarius swaini (Wells & Wellington, 1985) (Reptilia: Carphodactylidae)

The recent discovery of Saltuarius swaini on Mt Glorious is unexpected due to the site’s proximity to a major city. It extends the species’ range 80 km north of the nearest known population. Genetic analyses suggests that this is a natural population that has been isolated from the other sequenced, south-east Queensland S. swaini populations for an extended period. The species has a limited occurrence on Mt Glorious where it is apparently absent from extensive tracts of suitable rainforest habitat. The rainforest herpetofauna of Mt Glorious is broadly similar to, but more impoverished than, that of the larger southern rainforest blocks of the Border and Main Ranges

Identification and dynamics of a cryptic suture zone in tropical rainforest

Suture zones, shared regions of secondary contact between long-isolated lineages, are natural laboratories for studying divergence and speciation. For tropical rainforest, the existence of suture zones and their significance for speciation has been controversial. Using comparative phylogeographic evidence, we locate a morphologically cryptic suture zone in the Australian Wet Tropics rainforest. Fourteen out of 18 contacts involve morphologically cryptic phylogeographic lineages, with mtDNA sequence divergences ranging from 2 to 15 per cent. Contact zones are significantly clustered in a suture zone located between two major Quaternary refugia. Within this area, there is a trend for secondary contacts to occur in regions with low environmental suitability relative to both adjacent refugia and, by inference, the parental lineages. The extent and form of reproductive isolation among interacting lineages varies across species, ranging from random admixture to speciation, in one case via reinforcement. Comparative phylogeographic studies, combined with environmental analysis at a fine-scale and across varying climates, can generate new insights into suture zone formation and to diversification processes in species-rich tropical rainforests. As arenas for evolutionary experimentation, suture zones merit special attention for conservation

Distributions, life history specialisation, and phylogeny of the rainforest vertebrates in the Australian Wet Tropics

The purpose of this data set was to compile distributional, general life-history characteristics and phylogenies for Australian tropical rain forest vertebrates to inform a wide\ud range of comparative studies on the determinants of biodiversity patterns and to assess the impacts of global climate change. We provide three distinct data sets: (1) a table of species specific distributional and life-history traits for 242 vertebrate species found in the rain forests\ud of the Australian Wet Tropics; (2) species distribution maps (GIS raster files) for 202 of the species displaying both the realized and potential distributions; and (3) phylogenies for these species. These species represent 93 birds, 31 amphibians, 31 mammals (including one\ud monotreme), and 47 reptiles. Where information exists, the distributional and life-history data compiled here present information on: indices of environmental specialization (ENFA), habitat specialization, average body mass and size, sexual dimorphism, reproductive characteristics such as age at first reproduction, clutch/litter size, number of reproductive bouts per year and breeding seasonality, longevity, time of day when most active, and dispersal ability; distributional characteristics such as range size (potential and realized for both total and core ranges) and observed ranges in temperature, precipitation, and elevation; and niche attributes such as environmental marginality and specialization. The distribution\ud maps provided represent a combination of presence-only ecological niche modeling (using MaxEnt) to estimate the potential distribution of a species followed by biogeographic clipping by expert opinion based on extensive field data and a subregional classification relevant to the\ud topography and biogeographic history of the region to produce best-possible estimates of the realized distribution. Our assemblage contains many species with a shared evolutionary history, and thus many analyses of these data will need to account for phylogeny. Although a\ud comprehensive phylogeny with branch length information does not exist for this diverse group of species, we present a best-estimate composite phylogeny constructed primarily from\ud recently published molecular phylogenies of included groups