The southern toadlet (''Pseudophryne semimarmorata''), or marbled toadlet, is a species of small frog that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to south-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 ...

Description

The species grows to about 20–30 mm in length ( SVL). The upper body is dark brown to olive green, with black warty blotches. The underparts, which are smooth in females and granular in males, are very distinctively marked, being mainly yellow, orange or red in colour with a broad band of black and white, or black and blue, marbling that covers the chest and upper belly. The toes are unwebbed.

Behaviour

Breeding takes place from late summer to early winter. The males make burrows in areas likely to flood after rain from which they call between late March and early May and where the females lay loose clusters of eggs. Following rain, the tadpoles are washed into pools and other wetlands, where they change into small toadlets from late spring.

Distribution and habitat

The westernmost part of the species’ range is in the extreme south-east of

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 ...

, extending across southern Victoria, mainly south of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

, to Flinders Island and northern and eastern

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The frogs are found in damp areas at lower elevations in grasslands, heathlands, woodlands and forests where they shelter beneath rocks, logs and leaf litter.

Conservation

The species’ population is thought to be declining. Threats include the fungal disease chytridiomycosis, habitat clearance and degradation, as well the effects of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

on bushfire frequency and severity.

References

Pseudophryne Amphibians of South Australia Amphibians of Tasmania Amphibians of Victoria (Australia) Amphibians described in 1892 Frogs of Australia {{Myobatrachidae-stub