Adults. Males to 40 mm, females to 70 mm. Back is rough with numerous low, rounded bumps and highly variable in colour, from pale-beige to reddish brown, with scattered emerald-green spots, usually with at least a few darker patches. Individuals are capable of varying intensity of their colour with changes in temperature, time-of-day, or even mood. Belly is cream or pale-yellow and granular (grainy); throat is yellow in males. Head is broad with a rounded snout. A thin black line follows a fold of skin that runs behind the eye, over the tympanum (eardrum), to the top of the arm. A silver iris surrounds a distinctive cross-shaped pupil. Backs of the thighs and groin are black and bright yellow, a patten which can also be found on the webbing of the toes and sometimes just behind the arm. Fingers are half webbed, toes are almost fully webbed, both with large pads.

Larvae. Tadpoles can reach up to 85 mm in length. Body is cylindrical and gold in colour with three dark stripes down the length of the body with the middle stripe extending onto the tail muscle. May have an iridescent gold or pale green spot on tip of snout. Belly is white with a copper-gold sheen. Iris is gold. Tail is slightly taller than the body and is well arched, tapering to an elongated and very fine tip. Fins are mostly clear with a yellow tinge and muscle is brown. Tadpoles metamorphose from December-April, three and a half months after hatching.¹

Eggs. 1200-2000 eggs are laid singly or in small groups near the sides of ponds, temporary pools, dams, or ditches, among leaf litter or vegetation, or attached horizontally along stems or twigs. Hatching begins four to six days after eggs are laid.^1,6

Habitat. Inhabits varied habitats from wet and dry forest to woodlands, shrublands, and open areas. Often found in trees and vegetation alongside streams and ponds.

Artificial Pond

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Natural Pond

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Artificial Pond

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Diet. Feeds on flying insects and other invertebrates.

Predation & Defence. Likely predators include reptiles, birds, and mammals. Rough-scaled Snakes (Tropidechis carinatus)⁵ are known to prey on adults, a Tusked Frogs (Adelotus brevis) was found to have consumed a recently metamorphosed individual,⁷ and the Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) may prey on tadpoles.⁸

The skin glands of this species contain peptides (like small proteins), called peroniins and caerins, which have anti-bacterial properties, and caerulein, which may have anti-predator effects.²

Long, drill-like call, also described as ‘maniacal cackle.’ Males often call from emergent vegetation, patches of bare ground, usually near the water’s edge, or from shrubs and trees close to ponds. Breeding season is typically September-January, but may call at any time of year.

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. Bilusich, D., Jackway, R.J., Musgrave, I.F., Tyler, M.J & Bowie, J.H. (2009). The host-defence skin peptide profiles of Peron’s Tree Frog Litoria peronii in winter and summer. Sequence determination by electrospray mass spectrometry and activities of the peptides. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 23: 2628-2636.
3. Cogger, H.G. (2018). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Updated 7th Edition. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
4. Hero, J.-M., Robertson, P. & Clarke, J. (2004). Litoria peronii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T41105A10398886. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T41105A10398886.en. Downloaded on 27 April 2020.
5. Hoskin, C.J., Grigg, G.C., Stewart, D.A. & Macdonald, S.L. (2015). Litoria peronii in Frogs of Australia (1.1(4614)) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://www.ugmedia.com.au.
6. Humphries, R.B. (1979). Dynamics of a breeding frog community. PhD thesis, Australian National University, Canberra. 
7. Katsikaros, K. & Shine, R. (1997). Sexual dimorphism in the tusked frog, Adelotus brevis (Anura: Myobatrachidae): the roles of natural and sexual selection. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 60: 39-51.
8. Remon, J., Bower, D.S., Gaston, T.F., Clulow, J. & Mahony, M.J. (2016). Stable isotope analyses reveal predation on amphibians by globally invasive fish (Gambusia holbrooki). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 26(4): 724-735.
9. Atlas of Living Australia occurrence download at https://doi.org/10.26197/5e9a2fc401f43 accessed on Sat Apr 18 08:37:47 AEST 2020.