Spotted grass frog

Last updated

Spotted grass frog
Limnodynastes tasmaniensis.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Limnodynastidae
Genus: Limnodynastes
Species:
L. tasmaniensis
Binomial name
Limnodynastes tasmaniensis
Günther, 1858
Limnodynastes tasmaniensis distribution.PNG
Spotted grass frog range

The spotted grass frog or spotted marsh frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) is a terrestrial frog native to Australia. It is distributed throughout all of New South Wales and Victoria, eastern South Australia, the majority of Queensland, and eastern Tasmania. It is also naturalised in Western Australia, having been unintentionally introduced at Kununurra in the 1970s, apparently during the relocation of several hundred transportable homes from Adelaide. [2]

Contents

The spotted grass frog was also formerly known as the "Marbled frog" in South Australia, [3] although this common name is also used for Limnodynastes convexiusculus , a species of ground-dwelling frog native to northern and north-eastern Australia, and southern New Guinea.

Description

A Spotted Grass Frog demonstrating an orange mid-dorsal stripe. Limnodynastes tasmaniensis orange.jpg
A Spotted Grass Frog demonstrating an orange mid-dorsal stripe.
Demonstrating larger blotches Spotted-Marsh-Frog.jpg
Demonstrating larger blotches

This frog reaches 45 mm in length. Its colour ranges from light brown to olive-green, with large, irregular shaped, green or brown spots on its back. Occasionally it will have a thin, pale cream, yellow or bright orange stripe running from snout to vent. There is a raised pale stripe running from below the eye to the base of the arm. The arms and legs are spotted like the back, and the belly is white.

Ecology and behaviour

This frog is common throughout Australia and is one of the first species to inhabit new dams and ditches. This species is associated with most habitats, including permanent or temporary dams, roadside ditches, ponds, flooded grassland and slow moving creeks, in urban areas, farmland, woodland, coastal areas and arid areas. The frog is usually found in grass or under other cover, near a still water source.

Breeding

The males calling and the breeding will occur pretty much all year round, finishing during summer. The call of this frog varies from a staccato machine gun sounding burst to a single 'Tok' sound, depending on the call race, which varies geographically. The machine gun call is the northern call race, throughout NSW and QLD. The 'tok' call is the southern call race, which occurs in southern VIC and TAS.

The male and female frogs can be sexed by the presence of a flap of skin around the thumbs of the females. This is used to froth the water during amplexus to create the floating foamy nest that it lays eggs in, which is roughly the size of a human palm. The tadpoles of this frog are comparatively large (up to 6 cm). This frog spends a minimum of 3 months in the tadpole stage.

Similar species

This species is commonly confused with the Long-thumbed Frog (Limnodynastes fletcheri), with which there is a regional overlap. The two frogs can be distinguished by a disproportionately long second digit of the inner front toes in the case of L. fletcheri. The long-thumbed frog also has larger irregular shaped spots on the back and a red/purple eyelid, which is uncommon in L. tasmaniensis.

As a pet

It is kept as a pet, [4] in Australia this animal may be kept in captivity with the appropriate permit.

Notes

  1. Jean-Marc Hero, John Clarke, Frank Lemckert, Peter Robertson, Peter Brown, Ed Meyer (2004). "Limnodynastes tasmaniensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2004: e.T41166A10408098. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T41166A10408098.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Martin, A. A. & Tyler, M. J. (1978). "The introduction into Western Australia of the frog Limnodynastes tasmaniensis Gunther". Australian Zoologist. 19 (3): 321–325.
  3. Waite, Edgar R. (1929): The reptiles and amphibians of South Australia. Facsimile Edition, issued to commemorate the Second World Congress of Herpetology, Adelaide,South Australia, by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 1993.
  4. Mark Davidson. 2005. Australian Reptile Keeper Publications. ISBN   0-9758200-0-1

Related Research Articles

<i>Limnodynastes dumerilii</i> Species of amphibian

Limnodynastes dumerilii is a frog species from the family Limnodynastidae. The informal names for the species and its subspecies include eastern or southern banjo frog, and bull frog. The frog is also called the pobblebonk after its distinctive "bonk" call, which is likened to a banjo string being plucked. There are five subspecies of L. dumerilii, each with different skin coloration. The species is native to eastern Australia. There has been one occurrence in New Zealand, when tadpoles of the species were found in 1999 and destroyed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant burrowing frog</span> Species of amphibian

The giant burrowing frog or eastern owl frog is a large frog species that occurs in coastal south-east New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It is also known as the owl frog, southern owl frog, spotted owl frog, burrowing owl frog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleating tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The bleating tree frog, also known as Keferstein's tree frog, is a species of tree frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. This frog is native to coastal eastern Australia, from south-eastern Queensland, to around Eden, New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striped marsh frog</span> Species of amphibian

The striped marsh frog or brown-striped frog is a predominantly aquatic frog native to coastal Eastern Australia. It is a common species in urban habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Growling grass frog</span> Species of amphibian

The growling grass frog, also commonly known as the southern bell frog, warty swamp frog and erroneously as the green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to southeastern Australia, ranging from southern South Australia along the Murray River though Victoria to New South Wales, with populations through Tasmania. This species' common names vary between states; the name southern bell frog applies to New South Wales, growling grass frog in Victoria and South Australia, and green and gold frog in Tasmania. This species has been introduced to New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fletcher's frog</span> Species of amphibian

Fletcher's frog, commonly known as the sandpaper frog or black-soled frog, is a species of nocturnal, terrestrial frog native to eastern Australia. It is primarily found in wet sclerophyll forests along mountain ranges and the coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian froglet</span> Species of amphibian

The Tasmanian froglet is a species of ground-dwelling frog that occurs only in Tasmania, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Mountains tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Blue Mountains tree frog also called the variegated river tree frog is a species of tree frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is endemic to southeastern Australia and is found in eastern Victoria and in southeastern New South Wales. The Jenolan Caves tree frog, a population formerly separated as Litoria jenolanensis, is nowadays included in this species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whistling tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The whistling tree frog (Litoria verreauxii), or Verreaux's tree frog, is a species of frog found in Australia. It has been divided into two subspecies, the nominate Verreaux's tree frog and the Verreaux's alpine tree frog. The alpine tree frog is restricted to the southern alps of New South Wales and Victoria. Verreaux's tree frog is widespread throughout south-eastern Queensland, coastal and highland regions of New South Wales, and south-eastern Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler's toadlet</span> Species of amphibian

Tyler's toadlet is a species of ground frog that is found in coastal areas in southern New South Wales and eastern Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern brown tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The southern brown tree frog, also known as the brown tree frog, whistling tree frog, or Ewing's tree frog, is a species of tree frog native to Australia: most of southern Victoria, eastern South Australia, southern New South Wales from about Ulladulla—although this species is reported to occur further north—and throughout Tasmania including the Bass Strait Islands, in which state it is the most frequently encountered frog. It has been introduced to New Zealand, where it can be locally abundant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salmon-striped frog</span> Species of amphibian

The salmon-striped frog is a species of ground dwelling frog native to southeastern Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-thumbed frog</span> Species of amphibian

The long-thumbed frog, Fletcher's frog or barking marsh frog is a species of non-burrowing ground frog native to south-eastern Australia. The species belongs to the genus Limnodynastes. The twelve species in the genus are characterised by a lack of toe pads. Following phylogenetic analysis, the species was placed in L. peronii clade group alongside L. depressus, L.tasmaniensis and L. peronii.

The streambank froglet or Flinders Ranges froglet is a small, locally common, Australian ground-dwelling frog, of the family Myobatrachidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marbled frog</span> Species of amphibian

The marbled frog or marbled marsh frog is a species of ground-dwelling frog native to northern and north-eastern Australia, and southern New Guinea in both Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant banjo frog</span> Species of amphibian

The giant banjo frog, giant pobblebonk frog, giant bullfrog, or great bullfrog is a species of frog, endemic to Australia, in the family Limnodynastidae. Fry was the first to recognise the species of Giant Banjo Frog as a distinct subspecies of Banjo Frog, differing from the similar Southern or Eastern Banjo Frogs which occupied most of eastern Australia.

The Amphibians of Western Australia are represented by two families of frogs. Of the 78 species found, most within the southwest, 38 are unique to the state. 15 of the 30 genera of Australian frogs occur; from arid regions and coastlines to permanent wetlands.

References