Northern Sandhill Frog

Arenophryne rotunda Tyler 1976

Species Info Card | Updated 1 decade ago

A small burrowing frog most closely related to the turtle frog. The body is squat with a small head and short limbs. The skin has a loose appearance, especially around the back legs. The colour ranges from a pale white to light creamy grey to brown, with small scattered spots of green, dark brown or red. Maximum size to 3-4 cm.

Breeding Biology

This is one of several species of south-western native frog that does not require free water for reproduction. After pairing with a male, females lay clutches of up to 10 very large (5 mm) eggs in March and April about a metre below ground in sandhills.

There is no tadpole stage: miniatures of the adults hatch out after about 2 months.

Habitat

This species occurs on coastal sand dunes and spends its days burrowed in the sand and emerges at night in winter to feed on the surface.

Etymology

rotunda means 'round' in reference to the shape of this species.

General

This species was described after Mike Tyler discovered it amonst Crawling Toadlets specimens held in the collections of the Western Australian Museum.

Restricted - occurs only in the Shark Bay area and Dirk Hartog Island.

A short 'squelch'. Males call from burrows or the surface.