Dr Marion Anstis

Dr Marion Anstis

Research Associate
Dr Marion Anstis

Key Info

  • Position Title
    Research Associate
  • Section
    Herpetology Collection
    Division
    Australian Museum Research Institute

Although she has been a high-school music teacher for 31 years, Marion has had a lifelong interest in tadpoles and their identification to species level. Prior to her retirement from teaching in 2001, she published 11 papers in scientific journals and one book, Tadpoles of SE Australia: a guide with keys.

After retiring, Marion started work on her major study, documenting which tadpole belongs to which frog across Australia. This work, Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia, was successfully submitted for a PhD at Newcastle University in 2012 and subsequently published by New Holland Publishers.

Marion has also published an additional 15 scientific papers on amphibian breeding biology and taxonomy and a book for children, Frogs and Tadpoles of Australia, also published by New Holland in 2007. She currently continues writing scientific papers with colleagues, and has written another small handbook for general readers on Australian frogs (in press) commissioned by New Holland.

Marion has received three research grants from Australian Biological Resources Study (Environment Australia) – one in 1999, and another in 2006-07, and one from WWF in 2003. In 2003, she was one of three finalists in the Eureka Science Awards (Botanical Gardens Biodiversity award). In 2003 and 2014, she was awarded the Whitley Silver Medal for the best Australian publication in Zoology for Tadpoles of SE Australia and Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia respectively.

Marion is currently collaborating with the Australian Museum on Australian frog systematics and taxonomy and tadpole morphology.

Principal Publications:

  1. Anstis, M. (1974). An introduction to the study of Australian tadpoles. Herpetofauna 7 (1), June 1974.
  2. Tyler, M. J. & Anstis, M. (1975). Taxonomy and biology of frogs of the Litoria citropa complex (Anura:Hylidae). Rec. S.A. Museum. Vol. 17 No. 5, 1975.
  3. Ingram, G. J., Anstis, M. & Corben, C. J. (1975). Observations on the Australian Leptodactylid frog, Assa darlingtoni. Herpetologica Vol. 31, No. 4 Dec.
  4. Anstis, M. (1976). Breeding biology and larval development of Litoria verreauxii (Anura:Hylidae). Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. Vol. 100(4): 193–202.
  5. Anstis, M. (1976). Courtship behaviour in the Australian tree frog, Litoria ewingii (Anura:Hylidae). Herpetofauna Vol. 8 No. 1.
  6. Anstis, M. (1981). Breeding biology and range extension for the N.S.W. frog Kyarranus sphagnicolus (Anura:Leptodactylidae). Aust. Journal Herp. Vol. 1 No. 1.
  7. Anstis, M. (1994). The larval development of Litoria brevipalmata (Anura:Hylidae). Memoirs Qld. Mus., Vol. 37 Pt. 1 Dec.
  8. Anstis, M. & Littlejohn, M. J. (1996). The breeding biology of Litoria subglandulosa and Litoria citropa (Anura:Hylidae), and a re-evaluation of their geographic distribution. Trans. Royal Soc. of S. Aust. 120(3), 83-99.
  9. Anstis, M. (1996). 25. Litoria subglandulosa, Glandular Frog in Threatened Frogs of NSW: Habitat, Status and Conservation, ed. H. Ehmann, pub. by The Frog & Tadpole Study Group of NSW Inc.
  10. Anstis, M., Alford, R. A. & Gillespie, G. R. (1998). Breeding biology of Litoria booroolongensis (Moore) and Litoria lesueuri (Dumeril & Bibron) (Anura:Hylidae) and comments on population declines of L. booroolongensis. Trans. Royal Soc. S. Aust. 122(1), 33-43.
  11. Anstis, M. (2002). ‘Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia: a guide with keys’. Reed New Holland - an imprint of New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd.
  12. Dziminski, M. A. & Anstis, M. (2004). Embryonic and larval development of the Sunset Frog, Spicospina flammocaerulea (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from Southwest Australia. Copeia 2004 (4) pp. 893-899.
  13. Anstis, M. & Tyler, M. J. (2005). Breeding biology of Litoria microbelos (Anura: Hylidae). Trans. Royal Soc. S. Aust.
  14. Gillespie, G. R., Anstis, M., Howards, S. D. & Lockie, D. (2007). Description of the Tadpole of the Rhacophorid Frog Rhacophorus georgii Roux (Rhacophoridae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of Herpetology 41 (1), pp. 149–152.
  15. Anstis, M., Roberts, J. D. and Altig, R. (2007). Development in two direct developing Myobatrachid frogs, Arenophryne rotunda and Myobatrachus gouldii from Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 23: 259-271.
  16. Doughty, P. and Anstis, M. (2007). A new species of rock-dwelling hylid frog (Anura:Hylidae)from the eastern Kimberley region of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 23: 241-257.
  17. Anstis, Marion (2007). Frogs and Tadpoles of Australia. (Young Reed Series) Reed New Holland publishing.
  18. Anstis, M. (2008). Direct development in the Australian myobatrachid frog Metacrinia nichollsi (Harrison, 1927), from Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum. Records of the Western Australian Museum 24 (2) 133-149.
  19. Crosslands, M. R., Brown, G. P., Anstis, M., Shilton, C. M. & Shine, R. (2008). Mass mortality of native anuran tadpoles in tropical Australia due to the invasive cane toad (Bufo marinus). Biological Conservation 141 (2008) 2387-2394.
  20. Doughty, P., Anstis, M. and Price, L.C. (2008). A new species of Crinia (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the high rainfall zone of the northwest Kimberley, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 25: 127–144.
  21. Anstis, M., Tyler, M.J., Roberts, J.D., Price, L.C. and Doughty, P. (2010). A new species of Litoria (Anura: Hylidae) with a highly distinctive tadpole from the north-western Kimberley region of Western Australia. Zootaxa 2550: 39–57.
  22. Anstis, M. (2010). A comparative study of divergent embryonic and larval development in the Australian frog genus Geocrinia (Anura: Myobatrachidae). Records of the Western Australian Museum 25: 399–440 (2010).
  23. Anstis, M, Parker, F., Hawkes, T., Morris, I. and Richards, S.J. (2011). Direct development in some Australopapuan microhylid frogs of the genera Austrochaperina, Cophixalus and Oreophryne (Anura: Microhylidae) from northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Zootaxa 3053:1–50.
  24. Donnellan, S.C., Anstis, M., Price, L. & Wheaton, L. (2012). A new species of Crinia (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Zootaxa 3499: 1­–26.
  25. Anstis, M. (2013). Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia. New Holland Publishers, Sydney, Australia. 832pp.
  26. Anstis, M & Richards, S.J. (2014). The tadpole of Litoria multiplica (Anura: Hylidae) from Papua New Guinea. The Herpetological Bulletin 128: 12–14.
  27. Anstis, M., Rowley, J. J. L. & Altig, R. (2016). Morphological clarifications of Australian hylid and limnodynastid tadpoles. Zootaxa 4126 (1): 146­­–150.
  28. Anstis, M., Price, L.C., Roberts, J.D, Catalano, S.R., Hines, H.B., Doughty, P. & Donnellan, S.C. (2016). Revision of the water-holding frogs, Cyclorana platycephala (Anura: Hylidae), from arid Australia, including a description of a new species. Zootaxa 4126 (4): 451­–479.
  29. Anstis, M., Rowley, J. L. & Altig, R. (2016). Morphological clarifications of Australian hylid and limnodynastid tadpoles. Zootaxa 4126(1): 146–150.
  30. Clulow, S., Anstis, M., Keogh, J.S. & Catullo, R. (2016) A new species of Australian frog (Myobatrachidae: Uperoleia) from a populated region of the New South Wales mid-north coast sandplains. Zootaxa 4184 (2):285–315.
  31. Anstis, M. (2016). Frogs of Australia, Reed Concise Guide series, New Holland Publishers.
  32. Sherratt, E., Vidal-Garcia, M., Anstis, M. & Keogh, J. S. (2017). Adult frogs and tadpoles have different macroevolutionary patterns across the Australian continent. Nature, ecology & evolution MacMillan Publishers Ltd.
  33. Sherratt, E., Anstis, M. & Keogh, J. S. (2018). Ecomorphological diversity of Australian tadpoles. Ecology and Evolution, 2018; 1–11.