Eastern water-holding frog facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eastern water-holding frog |
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Ranoidea
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platycephala
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The eastern water-holding frog is a special frog from Australia. It's also known as the flat-headed frog or common water-holding frog. This amazing creature lives in the dry central parts of Australia. You can find it in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales.
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What Does It Look Like?
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Adult eastern water-holding frogs are usually between 6.0 and 9.0 centimeters long. That's about the length of a small smartphone! Their skin can be dark or a mix of green colors. This helps them blend in with their surroundings.
Where Does It Live?
These frogs live in many different types of land. They can be found in grasslands and temporary wetlands. They also live near Australian wetlands called billabongs. Billabongs are small lakes or ponds that form when rivers change course.
How Does It Survive Dry Times?
When the weather gets dry, this frog has a clever trick. It digs a burrow deep into the ground. Then, it creates a special cocoon around itself. This cocoon helps it save water and stay moist. It can stay underground for a very long time, waiting for rain. This is how it earned its name, the "water-holding frog"!
How Does It Reproduce?
When the ground finally floods and creates temporary pools, the frogs come out. This is their chance to lay eggs. A female frog can lay as many as 500 eggs at one time! The eggs hatch in these temporary pools. The young frogs then grow quickly before the water dries up again.
Prey of the Eastern Water-Holding Frog** As an opportunistic, sit-and-wait predator, its diet consists mainly of small invertebrates and anything it can overpower. Its submerged hunting style is unique.
- Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates.
- Insects: Beetles, moth larvae, flies, ants, termites (especially important after rains when they swarm).
- Crustaceans: Small freshwater shrimps and yabbies (crayfish) when available in its pool.
- Other Invertebrates: Spiders, centipedes, and snails.
There are documented cases of them eating small fish, tadpoles (including their own species), and even small frogs. They will consume almost any organism that triggers their feeding response while they are buried or waiting in their pool.
Predators
- Goannas/Monitor Lizards
- Snakes
- Mammals (foxes and feral cats)
- Birds
- Other Frogs
- Turtles
- Fish
- Aquatic Insects
- Snakes
Tadpoles are prey for diving beetles, dragonfly nymphs, water scorpions, fish, turtles, and other tadpoles.
Threats
Human activity is now a primary threat for the species. Their preferred habitats—clay pans and floodplains—are often targeted for agriculture, groundwater extraction, and livestock watering. Cattle and sheep trample their burrows and degrade water quality, leading to significant habitat loss.
Adaptations
This frog is perfectly adapted to live in very dry places. It has unique ways to survive long periods without rain. It can even store water inside its body! The stored water can make them less palatable to some predators or simply allow them to survive in habitats where predators cannot persist during drought.
