The salmon-striped frog (''Limnodynastes salmini'') is a species of ground dwelling
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
native to southeastern
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
and northern
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 ...
,
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
It is a large species of frog reaching about in length. It is brown above with spots and blotches of darker brown. The predominant feature of this species is the 3 pink, orange or red-brown stripes running down the dorsal surface, with two on each side and one down the back. There is also an orange raised bar running from under the eye to the shoulder. The armpit is orange. The belly is white while the thighs are mottled black and white. The iris is golden.
Ecology and behaviour
It is often a
burrowing
An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...
species and will spend time underground or under logs and rocks to avoid
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
. It is associated with dams, flooded areas, and ditches in open areas or
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
. Males make an "unk-unk-unk" call from vegetation in water after heavy rains in spring, summer, and autumn.
About 1500
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
s are laid in floating foamy masses.
Tadpole
A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...
s hatch about 3 to 4 days after laying. Tadpoles are very dark brown and reach . Tadpole development takes about 43 days at a water temperature of 30 °C.
Metamorph
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...
s measure and resemble the adult; however, their stripes are paler.
Similar species
It is similar to the
striped marsh frog
The striped marsh frog or brown-striped frog (''Limnodynastes peronii'') is a predominantly aquatic frog native to coastal Eastern Australia. It is a common species in urban habitats.
Taxonomy
The striped marsh frog was described by French nat ...
, from which it can be distinguished by the orange or red stripes.
References
Further reading
*Robinson, M. 2002. A Field Guide to Frogs of Australia. Australian Museum/Reed New Holland: Sydney.
*Anstis, M. 2002. Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia. Reed New Holland: Sydney.
Frogs Australia Network – Salmon-striped Frog – frog call available here
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2274028
Limnodynastes
Amphibians of Queensland
Amphibians of New South Wales
Amphibians described in 1867
Frogs of Australia