The Australian Treefrogs are currently placed in one genus, Litoria, with 181 species. They occur in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea and the following island groups: Moluccan Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Timor, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Is. And, they have been introduced into New Caledonia, New Hebrides (Vanuatu), Guam, and New Zealand. Michael Tyler (1976, Frogs. Collins Publishing) wrote about the Australian Treefrog radiation.

"In Australia and New Guinea most of the members of the family Hylidae lived in trees and shrubs and are classic examples of what are usually called 'tree frogs'. There remain, however, a few members of the family that climb only occasionally, and spend most of their life on the ground amongst low-growing vegetation. This means that there is a reasonably clear division in this family, with some species which are almost totally committed to spending their lives abouve the ground and others that have only limited climbing ability and seem dertermined to retain an option on living on land."

Of, course this is true for members of this family in the New World also, with some Western Hemisphere species being terrestrial or subterranean.

White-lipped Tree Frog, Litoria infrafrenata (Günther, 1867). It is also known as the Giant Australian Treefrog. It inhabits the lowlands of New Guinea; extending westward to the islands of Timor, Halmahera, Seram, and Buru; eastwards to New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago, and south to the Aru Islands and the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. It has also been introduced into Java. This is a huge treefrog, adult reach at least 135 mm in body length, The White Lipped Treefrog tends to be a forest and swamp forest inhabitant. Males call from 3-4 meters above the ground when not breeding, but call from the water during the breeding season.

Menzies (1976, Handbook of Common New Guinea Frogs, Wau Ecology Institute) wrote about this species.

"Apart from the introduced cane toad, one or other of these two species [including L. caerulea] of tree frogs is the amphibian most likely to be encountered by the newcomer to the country. The reason for this is that, in addition to the large size and bright coloration, they are among the few species that haunt gardens and suburban land, frequently sitting under porch lights to catach insects and, apparently not being disturbed by passing people, even allowing themselves to be pciked up without obvious fright."

Litoria sp. This Australian Treefrog was in the pet trade, being sold as "White's Treefrog." It is not Litoria caerulea.