Great Barred Frog

Fascinating facts about the Great Barred Frog

• At about 8 cm long, the great barred frog has large, powerful legs and fully webbed feet that help it hop into water and swim away.
• Unlike its Mixophyes cousins, this frog lays eggs on land, the female flicks the clutch onto a nearby bank, and the first rain washes the embryos into a pond or stream.
• The tadpoles grow to about 8.5 cm and take around 12 months to develop into frogs.
• Its mating call starts with a loud "wark-wark-wark" which is occasionally followed by a softer, slow trill "bwaaark-bwaaark".
• Found in rainforests, Antarctic beech forests, and wet sclerophyll woodlands, the frog is almost always found near running water.

At a glance

About the Great Barred Frog

The great barred frog, Mixophyes fasciolatus, commands attention with its robust 8-centimetre frame and muscular hind limbs that launch it from the forest floor into swift streams. Its dark brown back is contrasted by a stark white belly, while the thighs flash a vivid yellow mottled with black, and parallel black bars streak down each leg. A distinctive dark stripe runs from the snout, through the eye, over the visible tympanum, and then curves beneath it, framing eyes perched atop the head. Fully webbed feet give the frog a powerful swimming edge, whereas its un-webbed hands cling to the leaf litter, and its tadpoles, reaching 8.5 centimetres, display a muted grey-brown to gold-brown hue as they develop in water for about a year. In the rain-soaked rainforests, Antarctic beech stands, and wet sclerophyll forests of eastern Australia, this ground-dwelling amphibian lives in close proximity to running water, using its strong legs to leap great distances into streams and then glide away with swift strokes. Its breeding ritual is unique among Mixophyes: the male’s resonant "wark-wark-wark" call, sometimes followed by a softer trill, echoes across the banks, and after amplexus the female flicks the eggs onto the moist bank, where the first rain washes them into the water for a year-long metamorphosis. A surprising trait is its dual reliance on both streams and ponds for breeding, a departure from its congeners that breed solely in streams, showcasing an adaptability that underscores its resilience in a changing environment

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