Amphibian Summary ("/"no need to know）

Order Family Species Features

– Ground Frogs
•All species are
found in
Australia, New
Guinea and Aru
Islands
• Extensive
adaptive
radiation in
Australia
Striped marsh frog
Limnodynastidae • Wide range of
ecological and
developmental
specialisations
• Most are
burrowing or
terrestrial, none
are arboreal
• Distribution:
Widespread across
all of Aus
 – Southern
Frogs
• Extensive
1. Turtle frog
adaptive
(Often found in
radiation
termite mounds or
• Wide range of
in burrows; Found
morphological,
in South-western
ecological and
Aus)
developmental
2. Northern
specialisations
gastric-brooding
• Variety of
frog (Presumed
life history
extinct)
Myobatrach patterns (either
• Female swallows
idae fully aquatic or
eggs shortly after
terrestrial
fertilisation
development)
• Hatch into
• Adults either
tadpoles
burrowing or
andcomplete
terrestrial,
development in the
none are arboreal
stomach
• Found in
3. Pouched Frog or
Australia and New
Marsupial Frog
Guinea
• Distribution:
Widespread across
all of Australia

Anura （
Frogs and
Toads）
 – Australian
Treefrog
• Widespread and
highly successful
• Typically
Anura （
water-dependent
Frogs and Litoria
• Hylidae reproduction
Toads） (endangered
/ • Adapted to
Victoria due to
Pelodryadi extreme
rapid loss of
daes environments
habitat)
• Arid Zones
and Cyclorana
•Worldwide but
mostly in
Australia and
South America
• Rainforests

-Tiny Treefrogs
Nursery Frogs
• Small, 1 – 3
(• Eggs coated
cm
with anti-fungal
• Hard to find
agent
unless they are
• Male frog
calling
Microhylid guards eggs
• Do not have
ae • Tadpole
free swimming
develops inside
tadpoles
egg
• Limited
•Lay clutch in
distribution in
moist soil under
tropical northern
rocks or leaf
Australia
litter)
 Limited
distribution:
Ranidae /
Northern Aus

• Introduced in
1935 to ‘control
’ cane beetles
• Up to 25,000
eggs per spawn
Bufonidae • Range is
Cane Toad
(invasive) expanding
(Rhinella marina)
significantly
• Poisonous
parotoid gland –
novel toxin
dangerous to
native species

Gymnophion
a
（Caecilia / / /
ns
(legless)
）
• Caudata
Found in
（Newts
Smooth newt Melbourne’s
and
/ (Lissotriton South- eastern
Salamander
vulgaris) suburbs
s-
invasive）