Haswell's frog (''Paracrinia haswelli'') is a small ground
frog found around
coastal swamps in eastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
from around
Port Macquarie, New South Wales to the
Mornington Peninsula in
Victoria. It is the
only member of the
genus ''Paracrinia''.
Description
This species of frog reaches in length. This frog varies from light grey-brown, pale brown to red-brown above with some darker flecks. There is normally a faint mid-dorsal stripe running down the back. There is also a dark band running from the back of the eye to the shoulder. The top half of the
iris is silver. The thighs are red, which gives it another name, the red-groined froglet. The ventral surface of this species is light brown with white patches.
Ecology and behaviour
This species is associated with coastal
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s, particularly in
wallum swampland and heathland. This species also inhabits
dams,
ponds, and ditches in
sclerophyll forest and
woodland.
Males make an "annk" call from water or on land during most of the year, but most often after rain in autumn and winter.
Eggs are laid in water attached to sticks and leaves. The
tadpole of this species has very deeply arched tail fins.
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...
occurs during spring and autumn after a tadpole life span of about 100 days. Metamorph frogs measure and resemble the adult, however, the thigh red colouration is not yet fully developed.
References
Frogs Australia Networkfrog call available here.
Frogs of Australia*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.
External links
*
{{Taxonbar , from=Q2217463
Amphibians of New South Wales
Amphibians of Victoria (Australia)
Myobatrachidae
Monotypic amphibian genera
Amphibians described in 1894
Frogs of Australia
Taxa named by Joseph James Fletcher