White-bellied Frog

Geocrinia alba Wardell-Johnson & Roberts 1989

Species Info Card | Updated 11 months ago

A small short-bodied frog with short muscular legs. The undersurface is white with occasionally a pale yellow wash. The upper surface is light brown or grey with dark spots that are sometimes aligned to form a stripe from the eye to the rump as well as a mid-lateral line from the eye along the flank and a bar across the eyes. Maximum size is 2.4 cm.

Breeding Biology

Males call from small depressions under dense vegetation in spring and early summer.

Development is entirely terrestrial with no free standing water. Eggs are laid in damp depressions under dense vegetation and may be attended by males after the females have laid the eggs. After the eggs hatch, the tadpoles never leave the nest and develop entirely in their depression. They metamorphose in about 2 months.

Habitat

Very dense swamp vegetation (to 4 m high) on clay, bordering streams and seeps in the extreme south-west of Western Australia.

Etymology

alba means 'white' in reference to the pale belly.

General

The only species of frog in Western Australia to be listed as 'Critically Endangered' due to habitat loss and ongoing degradation of existing habitats. The Perth Zoo has a breeding programme for this species, and there is a recovery programme that aims to protect the remaining habitat and individuals of this endangered species.

Highly restricted - found only in a 130 square km area near Karridale-Witchcliffe, south of Margaret River.

The call is a distinctive series of 11-18 separate pulses repeated almost too rapidly to be distinguished by ear.