A recently discovered fossil of Litoria tylerantiqua, a tree frog dating back 55 million years, reveals that Australian treefrogs existed during the Early Eocene epoch.

This period coincided with the time when Australia, Antarctica, and South America were still part of the supercontinent Gondwana.

The fossil was unearthed in the 1990s from the Tingamarra fossil frog deposit in Murgon, Queensland, by paleontologists from the University of New South Wales.

According to Dr. Roy Farman and his team, this finding extends the known fossil record of Australian tree frogs by about 30 million years, previously believed to start in the Late Oligocene.

Litoria tylerantiqua is now recognized as one of the oldest frogs from Australia, alongside Platyplectrum casca, which has living relatives in Australia and New Guinea.

Molecular studies indicate that Australian and South American tree frogs diverged approximately 33 million years ago, aligning closely with the existence of Litoria tylerantiqua.

Frogs have demonstrated remarkable resilience through several mass extinction events over the past 250 million years, including the one that wiped out non-flying dinosaurs.

Fossils from the Late Oligocene have also been found in various locations, such as Kangaroo Well in the Northern Territory and South Australia's Etadunna Formation.

Current threats to frogs, including climate change and chytrid fungus, may be addressed by insights gained from the fossil record, which could inform habitat adaptability.

Translocating threatened frog species to more secure habitats, as demonstrated with the southern corroboree frog, may enhance their chances of survival amid ongoing environmental challenges.