The painted burrowing frog (''Neobatrachus pictus'') is a species of burrowing

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

native to western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, eastern

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and southern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. They are also one of six species of frog which inhabit

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

Description

The painted burrowing frog is a moderate sized plump frog, reaching 55 mm in length. It is grey to yellow above with brown, olive or green patches. There is sometimes a thin, paler stripe running down the back. The belly is white. The rear toes are partially webbed and the metatarsal tubercles (shovel like structures on the heel of the foot to assist with burrowing) are completely black. The pupil is a vertical slit when contracted, and the iris is silver to gold.

Ecology and behaviour

Painted burrowing frogs inhabit waterholes, dams or pools of watercourses in woodland, grassland, and cleared areas. Males make an elongated trilling sound while floating in water after heavy rains, mainly in winter and autumn. Like other ''

Neobatrachus ''Neobatrachus'' is a genus of burrowing ground frogs native to Australia. They occur in every state except Tasmania, however this genus is absent from the far north of Australia and most of Queensland. Most of the species in this genus occur in ...

'' the species is an adapted burrower and will often spend periods of time underground to avoid drought conditions. Eggs are laid as loosely adherent clumps which may break apart. Tadpoles are large and reach about 78 mm (at about stage 35). Development takes about 4 to 7 months and metamorphs are often observed from September to November. When threatened, this species will sometimes rear up all its legs, inflating its body to appear larger to discourage some

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s. It is an uncommon species being threatened with habitat loss and is classified as endangered in

Similar species

It is similar to other species of ''

'', particularly the Sudell's frog (''N. sudelli'') and the trilling frog (''N. centralis''), from which it is distinguished by lack of baggy skin around the groin and metatarsal colouring respectively.

References

*Anstis, M. 2002. Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia. Reed New Holland: Sydney. *Robinson, M. 2002. A Field Guide to Frogs of Australia. Australian Museum/Reed New Holland: Sydney.
New South Wales Threatened Species Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2276197 Neobatrachus Amphibians of New South Wales Amphibians of Victoria (Australia) Amphibians of South Australia Amphibians described in 1863 Frogs of Australia Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters