Australian Green Tree Frog - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The Green Tree Frog shares the Litoria genus with dozens of frog species endemic to Australasia. The common name of the species, "White's Tree Frog", is in honour of John White's first description in 1790. The Green Tree Frog was the first Australian frog scientifically classified; the specimen found its way into the collection of Sir Joseph Banks, but was destroyed with the German bombing of the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in London in World War II.

The species was originally called the "blue frog" (Rana caerulea) despite its green colour. The original specimens White sent to England were damaged by the preservative and appeared blue. The colour of the frog is caused by blue and green pigments covered in a yellow layer; the preservative destroyed the yellow layer and left the frog with a blue appearance. The specific epithet, caerulea, which is Latin for blue, has remained. The frog is also known more simply as the "Green Tree Frog." However, that name is often given to the most common large green tree frog in a region, for example, the American green tree frog (Hyla cinerea).