Pseudophryne semimarmorata

Conservation Status

Calling Period

Description

A small species of frog reaching up to 3.5 cm in body length. It has a dark brown, dark grey or dark olive-green back, with many distinct black spots and an often bumpy skin texture. The underside, especially throat and limbs, is a bright orange-yellow, with black and white marbling on the belly. The pupil is horizontal, and the iris is gold. Fingers and toes are unwebbed, both without discs.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid as one small cluster on land under moist leaf litter, logs and rocks, and in muddy holes in the ground. The nest is guarded by the male, as it is with other Pseudophryne species. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to 3.5 cm and are dark grey in colour, sometimes with copper patches. They are released into water bodies after the nest is flooded by rain, and take six to eight months to develop into frogs once released. Breeds during autumn.

Similar Species

Looks somewhat similar Geocrinia laevis, Geocrinia victoriana,Pseudophryne bibronii, and Pseudophryne dendyi in its distribution, but has a strikingly different belly colour.