Different croaks: new frog and gecko species discovered on remote island in Australia's north

"When you approach it, it just looks like a big triangle sticking out of the sea, and as you get closer, you realise you're looking at car- and house-sized granite boulders piled up. We hiked up into all those boulder fields and found the gecko quickly, Hoskin said, having been tipped off by researcher Alexander Davies, who suspected the island had reptiles not yet known to science."

"The larger frog, Callulops gobakula (gobakula meaning boulders), has a croaking call similar to that of a green tree frog, and lives in the cracks between boulders. The two frogs belong to the microhylid family, and are believed to be terrestrial breeders, meaning that frogs hatch directly from laid eggs. Other microhylid species in New Guinea and Australia breed in a similar manner, bypassing the tadpole stage."

Dauan Island is a 3 sq km island in the far northern Torres Strait dominated by car- and house-sized granite boulders. A banded, long-legged gecko named Nactus simakal was recorded on boulder fields. Two new microhylid frogs were also found: Choerophyrne koeypad is very small with oversized toe pads and a high-pitched metallic tapping call that enables climbing on boulders and vegetation, while Callulops gobakula is larger, emits a croaking call like a green tree frog, and occupies cracks between boulders. Both frog species are believed to be terrestrial breeders that hatch directly from eggs.

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