Wallum froglet

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Wallum froglet
Crinia tinnula.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Myobatrachidae
Genus: Crinia
Species:C. tinnula
Binomial name
Crinia tinnula
Straughan and Main, 1966
Crinia tinnula distribution.PNG
Wallum froglet range.

The wallum froglet (Crinia tinnula) is a species of ground-dwelling frog native to the east coast of Australia, from southeast Queensland to Kurnell, NSW. It is strongly associated with Wallum swampland.

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Wallum

Wallum, or wallum country, is an Australian ecosystem of coastal south-east Queensland, extending into north-eastern New South Wales. It is characterised by flora-rich shrubland and heathland on deep, nutrient-poor, acidic, sandy soils, and regular wildfire. Seasonal changes in the water table due to rainfall may create swamps. The name is derived from the Kabi word for the wallum banksia.

Contents

Description

This species is a small species of frog, up to 15 mm in length. It is very similar to the common eastern froglet, and can only readily be distinguished by call and a white stripe on the throat that reaches all the way to the tip on the snout. Its dorsal surface is variable, it can range from grey to brown and is normally smooth in texture. The dorsal surface can be spotted, plain, however it is normally striped. The ventral surface is faintly marbled black and white.

Common eastern froglet species of amphibian

The common eastern froglet is a very common, Australian ground-dwelling frog, of the family Myobatrachidae.

Ecology and behaviour

This species is confined to acid paperbark swamps in wallum country. Males make a high pitched squeaking noise and call at any time of the year, when water is available. Males normally call from hidden positions in grass, while floating in the water. Breeding happens mostly during autumn and winter and occurs in large swamps and temporary ponds fringing the swamp. Eggs are laid singly on twigs and leaves in still water. Tadpoles are brown with arched tail fins, reaching almost 40 mm in size. Tadpole development takes nearly 6 months, with metamorph frogs ranging from 6–11 mm.

The swamps that these frogs inhabit are coming under increasing threat by urbanisation.

Sources

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