Adults. Males to 29 mm, females to 37 mm. Back is variable, ranging from bright green to dark brown with various combinations of green and brown between, often with scattered, small black dots; colour can change seasonally.⁶ Belly is white or cream and granular (grainy). A light brown-yellow stripe and parallel brown line start at the tip of the snout, run through the eye, over the obvious tympanum (eardrum), then widen and dissipate above the shoulder, sometimes extending down the sides of the body. Top lip often with a thin pale stripe. Head is broad, wider than long. Pupil is horizontal and iris is gold with darker veins. Back of thighs, armpit, and groin range from yellow-brown to red. Fingers are only slightly webbed, toes are about three-quarters webbed, both with large pads noticeably wider than the digit.

Larvae. Tadpoles reach up to 32 mm in length. Body is a streamlined oval and dark brown in colour sometimes with fine gold dots. Belly is transparent. Snout is short and rounded. Iris is mostly golden. Tail is same height as body, arching only slightly and tapering to a rounded tip. Fins are mostly transparent with dark spots and muscle is brown. Tadpoles metamorphose from December-March, two to two and a half months after hatching.^1,3

Eggs. 360-730 dark-coloured eggs are laid as a cluster attached to rocks or vegetation below the surface of the water in pools adjacent to or connected with the main stream. Hatching occurs three to five days after eggs are laid.¹

Habitat. Inhabits flowing rocky streams in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forests in highland and coastal areas.

Stream

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Stream

Lamington Plateau, QLD

Diet. Feeds on small arthropods, like insects and spiders.⁴

Predation & Defence. Likely predators include reptiles, birds, and mammals, possibly fish and larger invertebrates like spiders and crayfish.

Call is a three note ‘wreeek-kuk-kuk’ lasting less than 2 seconds. Males call from rocks, low vegetation, and debris in or very near the stream. Males may use visual signals, like hand-waving and leg-flicking, possibly as a challenge to other males, but no fighting was observed.⁷ Breeding season starts in October and peaks in February.

Click here to jump to EASTERN SEDGE FROG (Litoria fallax)

Near Threatened (IUCN Red List 2004)

Listed as Near Threatened because its Extent of Occurrence is not much greater than 20,000 km2, the extent and quality of its habitat are probably declining, and it is in significant decline (but probably at a rate of less than 30% over ten years), in part due to chytridiomycosis, thus making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable.⁵

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

Vulnerable in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992)

1. Anstis, M. (2017). Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia. Second Edition. New Holland Publishers, Sydney.
2. Cogger, H.G. (2018). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Updated 7th Edition. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
3. Hines, H.B. and the South-east Queensland Threatened Frogs Recovery Team. (2002). Recovery plan for the stream frogs of south-east Queensland 2001-2005. Report to Environment Australia, Canberra. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Brisbane.
4. Hines, H.B. (2012). Cascade Treefrog Litoria pearsoniana (Copland, 1961). In Queensland’s Threatened Animals, eds. L.K. Curtis, A.J. Dennis, K.R. McDonald, P.M. Kyne & S. J.S. Debus. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
5. Hero, J.-M., Meyer, E. & Clarke, J. (2004). Litoria pearsoniana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T12150A3327061.
   https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T12150A3327061.en. Downloaded on 22 April 2020.
6. McDonald, K.R. & Davies, M. (1990). Morphology and biology of the Australian tree frog Litoria pearsoniana (Copland) (Anura: Hylidae). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 114(3): 145-156.
7. Meyer, E., Murray, K.A. & Hines, H.B. (2012). Further observations of visual signalling in Australo-Papuan hylid frogs of the genus Litoria (Tschudi). Australian Zoologist 36(1): 55-58.
8. Atlas of Living Australia occurrence download at https://doi.org/10.26197/5e9a2fc401f43 accessed on Sat Apr 18 08:37:47 AEST 2020.