The sandhill frog, Arenophyrne rotunda, belongs to a monotypic
genus that occurs on the central coast of Western Australia. It has a highly
modified body shape with a small head and large front limbs. Members of
this species burrows forwards through sand substrates. Here we describe a
new species of Arenophyrne from the Geraldton sandplain that occurs to the
south of the populations of the type species A. rotunda at Shark Bay. Relative
to A. rotunda, the new taxon has a more pointed snout, smaller face and eyes,
larger hands, rougher dorsal surface and darker colouration that matches the
background colour of the sands on which it occurs. Molecular evidence
indicates divergence of the two taxa in the late Miocene to early Pliocene,
approximately 5ñ6 mya. The western coast of Australia has a complex
biogeographic history owing to geological activity and changes in sea level
interacting with extensive sandy areas. Speciation within Arenophyrne on the
coastal dunes of Western Australia indicates that levels of diversity in
subterranean groups there may be underestimated owing to conservative
fusiform morphology of burrowing animals.