Australian Frogs

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Common name: Green and Golden Bell Frog

Scientific name: Litoria aurea

Family: Hylidae

Description

This frog ranges from brown, dull olive to bright emerald green on its back with large brown or golden blotches. A pale stripe runs down the spine. A dark streak runs from the snout, over the eye and tympanum (tight membrane covering the entrance to the ear). Above this streak a cream skin fold runs down to the groin. Another pale stripe runs from below the eye to the base of the arm. The groin and the backs of the thighs are bright blue or blue-green. The belly is coarsely granular and white. The skin on the back is smooth or finely granular. The toes are nearly fully webbed.

Size

85 mm

Habitat

This frog lives in permanent water bodies that have lots of vegetation such as ponds, swamps and dams.

Call

Has four parts starting with a slow "craw-craw-crawk" followed by some short grunts, "crok-crok". Sounds like a motorbike changing gears.

Breeding

Males call after rain in spring, summer and autumn - whilst afloat amongst vegetation.

Eggs

Are laid in large floating or sunken clusters, which often are attached to vegetation at the edge of the water.

Tadpoles

Are large and translucent yellow with darker areas. As these tadpoles develop they become darker in colour. They are often seen basking in shallow water near the edges of water bodies.

Similar species

This frog can be distinguished from all others by its colouration and call.

Other characteristics

This frog became famous when building began on the Sydney 2000 Olympics site - a campaign was launched to save the local population.

Suspected threatening processes

Population Size

An estimate of the total number of adults present in the species entire range is 10001-50000 individuals, or size is unknown but suspected to be large. All major factors affecting population size and distribution are known.

Population trend in Australia over the past 50 years

Population size known to be decreasing.

Knowledge of population trend in Australia

Nation-wide monitoring, but not with statistical sensitivity.

Population concentration

Not known to concentrate or exist in discrete locations. (e.g. the number of sites in which individuals group together either seasonally, such as breeding sites, or they may occupy discrete habitat patches within the broader landscape, such as discrete water bodies or drainage units.)

Ongoing management activities in Australia

Some direct management/interventionist (i.e. manipulation of natural populations) activities in addition to enforcement of conservation law.

Reproductive potential for recovery

The average number of eggs deposited per adult female per year is >1000 eggs/female/year. Minimum age at which females are known or suspected to first reproduce is 2-3 years.

Range size in Australia

The size of the geographic area over which the taxon is distributed: 80,001-1,000,000 km² (up to 12% area of Australia or about the area of South Australia).

Distribution trend

Area occupied has declined by 75-100%. (This is an estimate of change in the portion of the total range that is occupied or utilised; it may not equal the change in total range.)

Knowledge of distribution in Australia

Broad range limits or habitat associations are known, but local occurrence cannot be predicted accurately.

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Demonstration site only. Content taken from Frogs Australia Network website.