Kimberley Rockhole Frog

Litoria aurifera Anstis, Tyler, Roberts, Price & Doughty 2010

Species Info Card | Updated 1 decade ago

 A small (to 22 mm) saxicoline species, with a flattened appearance with small limbs and scattered tubercles on the back. The snout is moderately pointed when viewed from above and slightly curved when viewed in profile. The toes are fully webbed.

Breeding Biology

Males call from rocks on the edges of rockholes or rocky creeks. Usually in small groups but can also call solo. Females lay between 60-110 eggs per clutch, and the eggs are scattered in several places during mating.

Tadpoles are strikingly marked. They body is jet black, but there are brilliant gold patches on the snout and back. The tail is typically '2-toned' - pale at the base, and the terminal half is a highly contrasting jet black. Tadpoles have sucker mouths that enable them to scrape algae off rocks and also to stay attached in fast-flowing water. Metamorphs are about 1 cm long.

Habitat

Found near rockholes and rocky creeks, especially in rugged sandstone country.

Etymology

The name is derived from the Latin aureus (gold) and fero (to carry or bear) in reference to the distinctive gold patches that are unique in this species.

General

This recently-described species was discovered when Matt and Russell Barrett (botanists) noticed the golden tadpoles in shallow water near the Prince Regent River. The tadpoles are the most brilliantly coloured of any Australian species, despite the adults looking very similar to the common Rockhole Frog (Litoria meiriana). This species is also adept at 'skipping' across the water.

Kimberley region. Occurs in the north-west region from Walcott Inlet then north to the top of the Prince Regent River Nature Reserve.

Complex. The main call is a halting Morse-code like chirping, but with intermittent short chirps and screech-like sounds also given.