Broad-palmed Frog

Fascinating facts about the Broad-palmed Frog

• The broad-palmed frog is found from mid-Queensland to south of Sydney and as far west as the South Australia border, occupying both coastal and inland habitats.
• During the breeding season, males call in a large chorus around still water such as dams, roadside ditches, temporary puddles or still areas of streams, producing a short "quark" call repeated continuously.
• A single female can deposit up to 350 eggs in one floating or vegetation-bound mass, and if the water is disturbed the whole clutch may sink, a tactic that helps protect the future tadpoles from predators.
• Depending on the warmth of the water, those eggs hatch in just 3 to 6 days, producing sandy-gold tadpoles that grow to a maximum length of 49 mm before they are ready to transform.
• The metamorphosed frog emerges at a tiny 14–17 mm long, already looking like the adult, which illustrates how quickly this species can complete its life cycle in temporary pools that might disappear after a few days.

At a glance

About the Broad-palmed Frog

The broad-palmed frog (Litoria latopalmata) presents a subtle palette of pale to dark brown across its dorsal surface, occasionally broken by darker blotches or variegated patches. A striking black band runs from the snout, through the eye and tympanum, fracturing into side blotches, while a thin white line bisects this band just before the eye and continues beneath it. Its thighs flash a marbled yellow-and-black pattern, the armpit glows yellow, and the lower lip is a mosaic of black and white, contrasting with a clean white belly. Though classified as a tree frog, it lives on the ground, traversing the open country and forests from mid-Queensland down to south of Sydney, extending westward in New South Wales to the South Australia border, where it frequents both coastal and inland habitats. During the breeding season, males assemble in massive choruses around still water, dams, roadside ditches, temporary puddles, or quiet stream pools, emitting a rapid, repeated "quark" that echoes across the landscape. Females lay up to 350 eggs in floating or vegetation-attached masses that may sink when disturbed; hatching follows in just three to six days, producing sandy-gold tadpoles that grow to 49 mm before a swift metamorphosis into froglets measuring 14-17 mm. A surprising trait of this species is its ability to breed in highly transient water bodies, allowing it to exploit fleeting aquatic habitats that many amphibians would overlook, ensuring its persistence across a mosaic of ever-changing environments

More other animals to discover

Browse Feravox