Common Name: Turtle Frog
Description: (After Tyler et al., 1994). A rather flattened, moderately large frog with a very small head, tiny eyes and short, muscular limbs. The toes are very broad and the limbs stick out from either side of the body. Because of this appearance and the hump in the middle of the back, this frog looks very much like a turtle without its shell and hence gives rise to the common name! This species is generally coloured pinkish-brown often with some yellow.
Distribution:
The southwest corner of WA, from Eradu in the north, to Harvey in the south
(coastal population) and inland from Northam, east to Hyden, south to Tuttaning
and the Fitzgerald Rivers.
Call: An abrupt, deep croak. Males usually call from the cover of vegetation or underneath the sand.
Breeding: Eggs are laid in clumps in moist sand. Development is entirely within the egg capsule. Calling males are only heard and seen during a few nights in summer (often November) on nights with warm rain. Males and females pair up on these nights and burrow several metres under the sand. Metamorphs are usually caught the following autumn (April-June) when they emerge as fully formed frogs.
Habitat: Sandy
soils, sandhills and termite colonies. The most common habitat type is
Banksia woodland, especially on the coastal plain. This is a common and
very cryptic species in bushland throughout the metropolitan area.
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