Myobatrachus gouldii (Gray, 1841)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Turtle Frog (Myobatrachus gouldii)
Thomas Mesaglio · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Myobatrachus is a genus of frogs found in Western Australia. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species, Myobatrachus gouldii, also known as the turtle frog. It gets its name from its resemblance to a shell-less turtle. It is described to have an extremely small narrow head, short limbs, and a round body. They can get up to 45 millimetres (1.8 in) long. Anatomy studies of this species say that it has an incredibly large pectoral girdle for its size. Due to its unusual morphology, the features of this creature are thought to originate with old frog lineages from the early Tertiary or late Mesozoic eras.
Wikipedia contributors, Myobatrachus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T17:15:39.593275+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Myobatrachus gouldii (Gray, 1841)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1841)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Myobatrachidae
- Genus
- Myobatrachus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- superfamilyMyobatrachoidea Schlegel, 1850
- familyMyobatrachidae Schlegel in Gray, 1850
- genusMyobatrachus Schlegel in Gray, 1850
- speciesMyobatrachus gouldii (Gray, 1841)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Myobatrachus paradoxus Schlegel in Gray, 1850 Schlegel in Gray, 1850 | synonym |
| Breviceps heliogabali Gray, 1841 Gray, 1841 | synonym |
| Myiobatrachus paradoxus Schlegel in Gray, 1850 Schlegel in Gray, 1850 | synonym |
| Breviceps gouldii Gray, 1841 Gray, 1841 | synonym |
| Chelydobatrachus gouldii (Gray, 1841) (Gray, 1841) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=664684 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:454K2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.