Australian Frog Database

Australian Frogs

Australian Frog Database

Frog Bioregions Map

Full list of Australian Frogs

Frequently Asked Questions

Frog Resources

Frog Sounds

Frog Field Guides

Frog Books

Download Melbourne Field Guide

Frog Pictures

Links

Litoria latopalmata

Family: Hylidae
Common names: Broad Palmed Rocketfrog; Gunther's Frog

Description: This frog ranges from light to dark brown on its back, sometimes with darker blotches. A dark stripe runs from the snout, through the eye and tympanum (tight membrane covering the entrance to the ear), breaking up into a series of blotches down the side of the body. The stripe is broken in front of the eye by a white bar, which curves under the eye and runs down to the base of the arm. The backs of the thighs are yellow and dark brown. The belly is white and granular. The skin on the back is smooth with a few scattered warts. The finger and toe pads are small, and the toes are webbed.

Size: 40 mm

Habitat: This frog lives in many habitats including forests, coastal and river floodplains and woodlands. Outside the breeding season, these frogs can often be found well away from a water source.

Call: A rapid "quacking" or "yapping" sound.Call available in Windows Media or Quicktime audio. Recording Copyright © David Stewart.

Breeding: Males call from beside the water during spring and summer.

Eggs: Are laid in clusters near the surface and either float freely or attach to vegetation. Eventually they sink to the bottom of the water body.

Tadpoles: Are medium sized and sandy gold in colour, with a darker area over the base of the body near the tail. Darker patches are often scattered over the back.

Similar species: This frog can be distinguished from other species of Litoria by the white bar that starts in front of the eye, relatively smooth skin and a lack of skin folds.

Conservation Information

Suspected threatening processes

• Direct human impact/urbanisation/tourism
• Habitat modification (e.g. vegetation clearing, invasive weeds)

Population size: An estimate of the total number of adults present in the species entire range is >50000 individuals. Factors affecting population size and distribution are unknown or unsubstantiated.

Population trend in Australia over the past 50 years: Population size stable or suspected to be stable or increasing.

Knowledge of population trend in Australia: Monitored locally.

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: None directed primarily at the taxon.

Reproductive potential for recovery: The average number of eggs deposited per adult female per year is 201-1000 eggs/female/year. Minimum age at which females are known or suspected to first reproduce is <2 years.

Range size in Australia: The size of the geographic area over which the taxon is distributed: > 1,000,000 km².

Distribution trend: Area occupied has declined by < 25%. (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.

References

Anstis, M. 2002. Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia. Reed New Holland: Sydney.

Barker, J., G.C. Grigg and M.J. Tyler. 1995. A Field Guide to Australian Frogs. Surrey Beatty & Sons: Chipping Norton.

Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and amphibians of Australia. Reed Books: Sydney.

Robinson, M. 2002. A Field Guide to Frogs of Australia. Australian Museum/Reed New Holland: Sydney.