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

Limnodynastes ornatus

Family: Myobatrachidae
Common name: Ornate Burrowing Frog

Description: This frog has a wide range of colours and markings. It can vary from dark brown above to pale grey with dark irregular markings. There is often a butterfly or U-shaped light patch on the back behind the eyes. The legs and arms are barred or spotted with dark markings and the belly is white and smooth. The skin on the back has small warts and the toes are slightly webbed.

Size: 45 mm

Habitat: This frog lives in a wide range of habitats from the wet sclerophyll forests of the coasts to the dry woodlands of central Australia.

Call: Is a very short, rapidly repeated "unk…unk…unk". Call available in Windows Media or Quicktime audio. Recording Copyright © David Stewart.

Breeding: Males call while floating in the water. Breeding sites can range from puddles to large dams.

Eggs: Are laid in a small floating, domed foam mass which rapidly collapses to form a thin floating film, this characteristic being a critical difference from other Limnodynastes species. A female may lay more than 1500 eggs at a time.

Tadpoles: Are medium in size and grey-brown in colour, with gold flecks and dark spots. They grow rapidly and are sometimes predatory on smaller tadpoles.

Similar species: This species can be distinguished from other Limnodynastes by its lack of a tibial gland (a lump on the upper surface of the back legs).

Other characteristics: This burrowing species is usually active after rain.

Conservation Information

Suspected threatening processes

• None stated

Population size: An estimate of the total number of adults present in the species entire range is >50000 individuals. Some factors affecting population size and distribution are known, but 1 or more major factors are unknown.

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: Not currently monitored.

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.

Swan, G. 2001. Green Guide to Frogs of Australia. New Holland: Sydney.