Western ToadletPseudophryne occidentalis Parker 1940Species Info Card | Updated 1 decade ago Western ToadletB. Maryan Two Western ToadletsB. Maryan Western ToadletM. Cowan/WA Museum Belly of Western ToadletB. Maryan Western Toadlet Male with eggs in burrowM. Peterson A small robust-bodied frog with short legs and a tendency to crawl rather than hop. The back is chocolate brown with orange or bright yellow markings on top of the head, rump and upper arms. The undersurface is marbled black with a white background. The tubercles on the feet are much smaller than in the closely related crawling frog (Pseudophryne guentheri). Maximum size is 3.5 cm. Breeding Biology Similar to that of the crawling Frog, except inland populations will breed more readily in response to bouts of heavy rain in summer. Eggs are laid in shallow burrows. Eggs develop up to a certain stage then pause to wait for rising water tables to flood burrows. When burrows flood, the tadpoles swim out and then take 2-3 months to complete metamorphosis. Habitat Clay and sandy soils as well as granite outcrops. Etymology occidentalis means 'from the west'. General This species can be distinguished from the Crawling Toadlet by smaller digging tubercles on the feet and more vivid red patches. This species occupies the south-west and arid zone from Shark Bay then south along the outer wheatbelt including Bruce Rock and Philips River in the west to the Tallering Barr Smith Range and Balladonia Rock in the east, extending as far as Cape Arid. The call is a short and grating croak. ‹ Western Spotted Frog Western Water-holding Frog ›