Adults. Males to 65 mm, females to 101 mm. Back is smooth and copper-brown, yellow-brown, or dark brown in colour, with darker patches along the spine. Sides are light brown or cream with a series of dark spots or blotches. Belly is white and smooth. Head is broad with a rounded snout. A black or brown triangular patch on the tip of the snout continues as a dark stripe running from the nostril, past the eye, and ending above and just behind the obvious tympanum (eardrum). Upper lip has an unmarked, cream-coloured line. Pupil is vertical and iris is dark brown, sometimes with copper flecks in the upper half. Arms and legs with narrow, dark bars. Fingers are unwebbed, toes are three-quarters webbed, both without pads.

Larvae. Tadpoles can reach up to 84 mm in length in the wild, but may grow much larger (142 mm) in captivity. Body is oval-shaped and gold-brown or grey-brown in colour with darker patches and snout is rounded. Belly is clear initially, but darkens to blue-grey or off-white in later stages. Iris is mostly gold. Tail is only slightly taller than the body and moderately arched, tapering to a rounded tip, but this may vary in different habitats; stream-dwellers may have more of an arched tail than pond-dwellers. Fins are mostly transparent with scattered spots and muscle is patchy dark brown with rounded spots. Tadpoles metamorphose from January-March, but larval stage may last a year or more.^1,5
Eggs. The female kicks 700-2800 eggs from a pond or stream up to 20 cm onto a bank or rock face above the water, where they stick. Hatchlings wriggle into the water or are washed into the pond or stream by runoff during rain. Hatching occurs 11 to 18 days after eggs are laid.^1,5

Habitat. Inhabits streams and sometimes ponds in wet sclerophyll forests and rainforests.⁶

Artificial Pond

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Streamside

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Natural Pond

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Artificial Pond

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Diet. Feeds on insects and other invertebrates, occasionally other frogs.

Predation & Defence. Likely predators include reptiles, birds, and mammals. Mountain Galaxias (Galaxias olidus) are known to eat eggs of this species.⁵

This species relies more on camouflage and defensive behaviour than chemical defences. When threatened this frog may close its eyes, duck its head, and remain immobile, even if flipped on its back, possibly feigning death. The species is also able to secrete a slimy substance from its skin which may help the frog escape a predator or at least make it less palatable.⁷

Call is a series of nasal, low-pitched ‘wark-wark…’ grunts, sometimes followed by a few shorter, softer, and lower “bwaaark-bwaaark’ notes. Males call from the ground, often while partially buried in leaf litter. Breeding typically occurs October-March.

Adult vs BLACK-SOLED FROG (Lechriodus fletcheri)

Adult vs CANE TOAD (Rhinella marina)

Click to jump to CANE TOAD (Rhinella marina)

Least Concern (IUCN Red List 2004)

Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, 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. Hines, H., Hero, J.-M., Meyer, E., Clarke, J. & Newell, D. (2004). Mixophyes fasciolatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T13596A4220916. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T13596A4220916.en. Downloaded on 26 April 2020.
4. Hoskin, C.J., Grigg, G.C., Stewart, D.A. & Macdonald, S.L. (2015). Mixophyes fasciolatus in Frogs of Australia (1.1(4614)) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://www.ugmedia.com.au.
5. Knowles, R., Thumm, K., Mahony, M., Hines, H., Newell, D. & Cunningham, M. (2014). Oviposition and egg mass morphology in barred frogs (Anura: Myobatrachidae: Mixophyes Günther, 1864), its phylogenetic significance and implications for conservation management. Australian Zoologist 37(3): 381-402.
6. Parris, K.M (2002). The distribution and habitat requirements of the great barred frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus). Wildlife Research 29: 469-474.
7. Williams, C.R., Brodie Jr., E.D., Tyler, M.J. & Walker, S.J. (2000). Antipredator mechanisms of Australian frogs. Journal of Herpetology 34(3): 431-443. 
8. Atlas of Living Australia occurrence download at https://doi.org/10.26197/5e9a2fc401f43 accessed on Sat Apr 18 08:37:47 AEST 2020.