Adults. Males and females to 36 mm. Back is pale brown with two wide, darker brown, bands start between the eyes and run along the spine. There may also be a lighter stripe down the spine, between the darker bands. There are sometimes dark brown patches on the side. A dark brown or black stripe runs from the nostril, through the eye, to the shoulder and there is a cream-coloured patch underneath the eye. The head and snout are broad and short and the tympanum (eardrum) is obvious. The belly is granular (grainy) and pale cream or white.The pupil is horizontal and iris is gold. The front and back of the thighs are orange, and the groin is pale yellow with black spots. Fingers are unwebbed and toes are half-webbed, both with small pads only slightly wider than the digit.

Larvae. Tadpoles can reach a length of up to 53 mm. Body is cylindrical and varies in colour from transparent yellow to very dark brown, almost black. Belly is opaque white with a copper sheen. Iris is gold. Tail is slightly taller than body and well-arched, tapering to a fine, elongated tip. Fins vary from almost clear to dark grey or mottled and the muscle is cream coloured with irregular dark patches. Similar in shape to Naked Tree Frog (Litoria rubella) and Whirring Tree Frog (Litoria revelata) and cannot be reliably distinguishable from Bleating Tree Frog (Litoria dentata) without DNA testing or rearing to metamorphosis. Tadpoles metamorphose mainly in the spring and autumn, two to four months after hatching.¹

Eggs. A couple hundred eggs are laid attached to submerged vegetation in several small clusters of about 30 eggs each in permanent and semi-permanent ponds. Hatching begins between four and six days after eggs are laid.¹

Habitat. Inhabits swamps, dams, ponds, lagoons, bogs, and small streams in woodlands, wet and dry sclerophyll forests, grasslands, and disturbed areas near permanent water.

Artificial Pond

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Artificial Pond

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Diet. Feeds on insects and other invertebrates.

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

Call is a wavering ‘reet-reet-reet-reet…’ whistle, very similar to Whirring Tree Frog (Litoria revelata), but slower and slightly lower pitched. Males call from low vegetation, the ground, or shallow water in or near permanent or semi-permanent ponds. Breeding season tends to be in autumn and winter, but calling and breeding may occur year-round. May be heard calling even on cold winter nights.

Click here to jump to WHIRRING TREE FROG (Litoria revelata)

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.³

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. Cogger, H.G. (2018). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Updated 7th Edition. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
3. Hero, J.-M., Robertson, P., Lemckert, F., Gillespie, G., Littlejohn, M & Clarke, J. (2004). Litoria verreauxii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T12155A3328276. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T12155A3328276.en. Downloaded on 03 June 2020.
4. Atlas of Living Australia occurrence download at https://doi.org/10.26197/5e9a2fc401f43 accessed on Sat Apr 18 08:37:47 AEST 2020.