Pelodryadidae
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Pelodryadidae, also known as Australian treefrogs (although not all members are arboreal), is a family of frogs found in Australia, New Guinea and their surrounding islands, and have also been introduced to Guam, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and Vanuatu.
Pelodryadidae is thought to be the sister group to the leaf frogs (Phyllomedusidae), a family of arboreal frogs known from the Neotropics. The common ancestor of both families is thought to have lived in the early Cenozoic South America, with the two subfamilies diverging from one another during the Eocene. The ancestors of the subfamily Pelodryadidae likely invaded Australasia via the Antarctic land bridge, which at the time was not yet frozen over, thus was hospitable for the dispersing frogs. The clade comprising both subfamilies is sister to the Hylinae, from which they diverged in the early Paleogene.
The oldest known fossil of a Pelodryadidae frog is of †Litoria tylerantiqua from 55 million years ago. This places a minimum age on the divergence of this group from the Phyllomedusidae, and confirms that these two groups likely diverged even earlier.
Classification





Pelodryadidae is sometimes considered a sub-family of Hylidae, but recent taxonomic papers have regarded it as a family. Prior to 2025, only three genera were used to describe the diversity of the family: Cyclorana for the burrowing species, Nyctimystes for the Papuan (and one Australian) species with laced lids, and Litoria, which became a wastebasket taxon for the remaining species. A comprehensive phylogenomic study in 2025 split the 246 species into 35 genera::
- Cyclorana-Eremnoculus clade: Chlorohyla Mahony, Donnellan, and Richards, 2025 Cyclorana Steindachner, 1867 Dryopsophus Fitzinger, 1843 Eremnoculus Mahony, Richards, and Donnellan, 2025 Leptobatrachus Richards, Donnellan, and Mahony, 2025 Megatestis Donnellan, Mahony & Richards, 2025 Melvillihyla Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Mosleyia Wells and Wellington, 1985 Pelodryas Günther, 1859 "1858" Ranoidea Tschudi, 1838 Rhyaconastes Mahony, Donnellan, and Richards, 2025 Spicicalyx Donnellan, Mahony, and Richards, 2025
- Sylvagemma-Nyctimystes clade: Nyctimystes Stejneger, 1916 Sandyrana Wells and Wellington, 1985 Sylvagemma Mahony, Donnellan, and Richards, 2025
- Litoria-Rawlinsonia clade: Coggerdonia Wells and Wellington, 1985 Colleeneremia Wells and Wellington, 1985 Litoria Tschudi, 1838 Mahonabatrachus Wells and Wellington, 1985 Pengilleyia Wells and Wellington, 1985 Rawlinsonia Wells and Wellington, 1985 Saganura Wells and Wellington, 1985 Drymomantis sub-clade: Amnihyla Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Carichyla Mahony, Donnellan, and Richards, 2025 Drymomantis Peters, 1882 Exedrobatrachus Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Exochohyla Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Hyalotos Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Ischnohyla Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Kallistobatrachus Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Lathrana Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Nasutibatrachus Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Papuahyla Donnellan, Mahony, and Richards, 2025 Teretistes Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025 Viridihyla Richards, Mahony, and Donnellan, 2025
One species is regarded an incertae sedis:
- "Litoria" jeudii (Werner, 1901)
The following fossil genera are also known:
- †Australobatrachus Tyler, 1976 - Oligocene or Miocene of South Australia
- †Etnabatrachus Hocknull, 2003 - Pliocene or Pleistocene of Mount Etna, Queensland