Adults. Males to 77 mm, females to 110 mm. Back is smooth and bright green in colour, occasionally with irregular white spots, but more often with white spots on the sides of the body. Individuals are capable of varying intensity of their colour with changes in temperature, time-of-day, or even mood. Belly is white and granular (grainy). Head is broad with a rounded snout. A fleshy fold hangs over the obvious tympanum (eardrum). Pupil is horizontal and iris is pale gold. Groin and backs of thighs vary in colour from yellow to maroon. Fingers are one-third webbed, toes are three-quarters webbed, both with large pads.

Metamorphs. Newly metamorphosed individuals resemble the adults in colour, but have a dark brown stripe from the nostril, along the side of the head, to the top of the arm, which gradually disappears after a couple of weeks.

Larvae. Tadpoles range from 50 to 68 mm in length. Body is cylindrical and golden-brown to dusky brown in colour, depending on environmental conditions. Belly is pale with a copper sheen. Iris is golden. Tail is about the same height as the body and is moderately to well arched, tapering to a narrowly rounded tip. Fins are mostly clear with a few pigmented veins and muscle is generally pale with a darker brown stripe down the sides. Tadpoles metamorphose from October-April, a month to a month and a half after hatching. Late-season tadpoles may overwinter as larvae, delaying metamorphosis until spring.¹Eggs. 200-4000 eggs are laid in clumps on the surface of still water, like ponds, temporary pools, dams, or ditches. Hatching begins two to four days after eggs are laid, dependent on water temperature.¹

Habitat. It is found in a range of habitats including dry forest/woodland and grassland; rarely in wet forest, near streams and swamps on rocks and trees or in crevices in rocks and hollow tree trunks. It also found in woodlands on hills and plains often far from water. The species is at home in human environments, gathering around artificial lighting while foraging and sheltering in and calling from structures like letterboxes, toilet bowls and cisterns, bathrooms, and meter boxes

Diet. Feeds on insects and other invertebrates, small lizards, other frogs, and small mammals, like bats⁵ and rodents.

Predation & Defence. Likely predators include reptiles, birds, and mammals.

The skin glands of this species contain peptides (like small proteins), called caerins, which have anti-bacterial properties, and caerulein, which may have anti-predator effects.² The parotoid glands, behind the eyes, secrete a combination of noxious bioactives.⁶

The species may emit a high-pitched release call or ‘scream’ when handled or threatened. It may also take a defensive posture, head tucked and back raised, exposing the orange colouration on the backs of the thighs.⁶

Call is a deep, repeated ‘crawk, crawk….’. Males call near water and often from within downpipes or other man-made structures that amplify their call. Breeding occurs in spring and summer with calling peaking from November to February.

Least Concern (IUCN Red List 2004)

Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a broad range of habitats, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.⁴

Not Listed nationally (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999)

Least Concern in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992)

1. Anstis, M. (2017). Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia. Second Edition. New Holland Publishers, Sydney.
2. Bowie, J.H., Separovic, F & Tyler, M.J. (2012). Host-defense peptides of Australian anurans. Part 2. Structure, activity, mechanism of action, and evolutionary significance. Peptides 37: 174-188.
3. Cogger, H.G. (2018). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Updated 7th Edition. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
4. Hero, J.-M., Richards, S., Retallick, R., Horner, P., Clarke, J. & Meyer, E. (2004). Litoria caerulea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T41082A10385007. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T41082A10385007.en. Downloaded on 22 May 2020.
5. Hoskin, C.J., Grigg, G.C., Stewart, D.A. & Macdonald, S.L. (2015). Litoria caerulea in Frogs of Australia (1.1(4614)) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://www.ugmedia.com.au.
6. Williams, C.R., Brodie, E.D., Tyler, M.J. & Walker, S.T. (2000). Antipredator mechanisms of Australian frogs. Journal of Herpetology 34(3): 432-443.
7. Atlas of Living Australia occurrence download at https://doi.org/10.26197/5e9a2fc401f43 accessed on Sat Apr 18 08:37:47 AEST 2020.