Amphibians of Australia facts for kids

The leaf green tree frog (Litoria phyllochroa) is a type of tree frog found in eastern Australia's forests.

Australia is home to many amazing amphibians, but they are all frogs! About 230 different kinds of frogs live here, and 93% of them are found nowhere else in the world. This number is quite low compared to other continents, possibly because much of Australia has a dry climate. Sadly, two types of amphibians that are not native to Australia have been introduced: the cane toad and the smooth newt. They can cause problems for native animals.

How Frogs Came to Australia
Where Australian Frogs Live
Protecting Australian Frogs
Australian Amphibian Families
See also

How Frogs Came to Australia

Long, long ago, about 180 million years ago, all the continents were joined together in a huge landmass called Pangaea. This supercontinent later split into two big pieces: Gondwana and Laurasia. The very first frog fossils are even older than this split, which is why frogs can be found on almost every continent today.

South America and Africa were the first continents to break away from Australia. Frogs in South Africa and South America are closely related to a group of Australian ground-dwelling frogs called Myobatrachidae.

Later, tree frogs (from the Hylidae family) likely traveled to Australia from South America, possibly by hopping across Antarctica. This shows how continents moving over millions of years helped animals spread around the world.

India, Madagascar, and Seychelles also separated from Gondwana about 130 million years ago. A frog family found in India and Seychelles is closely related to Australia's Myobatrachidae frogs.

Australia and New Guinea have often been connected by land bridges over history. The last connection ended about 10,000 years ago. This allowed frog species to move between the two landmasses. For example, White's tree frog probably moved from Australia to New Guinea, while the giant tree frog likely came from New Guinea to Australia.

Some frog families, like Microhylidae and Ranidae, are common in the Northern Hemisphere but only live in far northern Australia. This is because Australia has been isolated for a long time. As it slowly drifted north towards Asia, some species were able to cross into New Guinea and then Australia. However, most of the frog "jobs" or "niches" in Australia were already taken by other frogs, so only a few new species were able to settle here.

Where Australian Frogs Live

The climate greatly affects where Australian frogs live. You'll find the most different types of frogs in the tropical and mild areas of northern and eastern Australia. Dry areas have fewer kinds of frogs because frogs generally need water to lay their eggs and for their young to grow.

Many Australian frogs have developed special ways to survive in harsh conditions. For example, some frogs, like those in the Cyclorana group, dig underground to escape heat and long dry periods.

The way tadpoles and eggs develop also changes depending on the rainfall. In dry areas, some frogs, like the Cyclorana species, have tadpoles that grow very quickly. They often breed in temporary, shallow puddles where warm water helps the tadpoles develop into frogs in about a month.

On the other hand, frogs like those in the Mixophyes group live in places with lots of rain. Their tadpoles can take as long as fifteen months to change into frogs.

The sandhill frog (Arenophryne rotunda) lives in sand dunes in Western Australia, where there's very little standing water. This frog has a unique way of developing: it lays its eggs under the sand, and the tadpoles grow into frogs entirely inside the egg! This amazing adaptation allows them to breed even without open water.

Australia has many different habitats, from wet rainforests to dry deserts, and most of them are home to frogs. However, in places like the Nullarbor Plain, where temperatures can be extreme and rainfall is very low, it's incredibly difficult for frogs to survive, so few species are found there.

Protecting Australian Frogs

The growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis) is listed as endangered because its population has dropped by about 50% in the last 10 years.

Since the 1980s, many Australian frog populations have been shrinking, and some areas have seen severe declines. Many of the frogs that were disappearing lived in high-altitude creeks, far from human changes. This suggested that losing their homes wasn't the only problem. Scientists believe a disease called chytrid fungus might be a major cause.

Some entire groups of frogs have been affected. Both types of gastric brooding frogs, which famously raised their young in their stomachs, are now extinct. Many species in the Taudactylus group are critically endangered, and one is extinct. Every species in the Philoria group is currently declining. Some "torrent frogs" have not been seen for many years.

As of 2006, three Australian frog species are considered extinct, 14 are critically endangered, and 18 are endangered. Out of the 14 critically endangered species, four haven't been seen in over 15 years and might now be extinct.

Before these widespread declines in the 1980s, the biggest threat to Australian frogs was habitat destruction. For example, the giant burrowing frog (Heleioporus australiacus) declined mostly because its land was cleared for houses or farms, and due to intense bushfires. Since this frog lived around Sydney, many populations were lost.

Extinct Frogs

Rheobatrachus silus — Southern gastric-brooding frog — last seen 1981
Rheobatrachus vitellinus — Northern gastric-brooding frog — last seen 1985
Taudactylus diurnus — Mount Glorious torrent frog — last seen 1979

Critically Endangered Frogs

Fleay's barred frog (Mixophyes fleayi) lives in a very small, broken-up area, less than 500 square kilometers. This makes it an endangered species.

Cophixalus concinnus — elegant frog
Geocrinia alba — white-bellied frog
Litoria booroolongensis — Booroolong frog
Litoria castanea — yellow-spotted bell frog — rediscovered in 2009 after not being seen for 30 years
Litoria lorica — armoured frog — rediscovered 2008 after not being seen for about 15 years
Litoria nyakalensis — Nyakala frog* — last seen 1990
Litoria piperata — peppered tree frog* — last confirmed sighting 1973, similar frogs discovered in 1992
Litoria spenceri — spotted tree frog
Litoria myola — myola tree frog
Philoria frosti — Baw Baw frog — as few as 250 adults left in the wild
Pseudophryne corroboree — corroboree frog — as few as 250 adults left in the wild
Taudactylus acutirostris — sharp-snouted day frog* — three sightings since 1994
Taudactylus eungellensis — Eungella torrent frog
Taudactylus pleione — Kroombit tinker frog
Taudactylus rheophilus — tinkling frog* — last seen in 2000

Endangered Frogs

The Eungella torrent frog (Taudactylus eungellensis) is critically endangered because it lives in a tiny area, only 10 square kilometers.

Cophixalus mcdonaldi — McDonald's frog
Cophixalus monticola — mountain nursery frog
Cophixalus neglectus — neglected frog
Litoria brevipalmata — green thighed frog
Litoria cooloolensis — Cooloolah tree frog
Litoria nannotis — torrent tree frog
Litoria raniformis — growling grass frog
Litoria rheocola — common mist frog
Mixophyes fleayi — Fleay's barred frog
Mixophyes iteratus — giant barred frog
Nyctimystes dayi — Australian lace-lid
Philoria kundagungan — mountain frog
Philoria loveridgei — Loveridge's frog
Philoria pughi
Philoria richmondensis
Philoria sphagnicolus — sphagnum frog
Pseudophryne covacevichae — magnificent brood frog
Pseudophryne pengilleyi — northern corroboree frog

A * indicates possible extinction.

Australian Amphibian Families

Australia has four native frog families, plus one introduced frog family and one introduced order of amphibians.

The cane toad (Rhinella marinus) is an introduced species from the family Bufonidae. It was brought to Queensland and has since spread widely. Another introduced amphibian is the smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris), which is a type of salamander. Even though it's illegal to bring them into Australia, they have been found spreading in Melbourne.

The tree frogs, from the family Hylidae, are a large group in Australia with over 70 species. They include different types of frogs, from those that live in trees to those that burrow underground.

Another major native family is Myobatrachidae, with many different species. These frogs are mostly found in Australia, New Guinea, and a few small islands.

The Microhylidae and Ranidae families have only a few species in Australia. Most of the species in these families live all over the world, with only a small number found in Australia and New Guinea.

Genus	Common names	Example species	Example photo	Australian range
Bufonidae - 1 genus, 1 species (introduced)
Rhinella - 1 species Fitzinger, 1826	Beaked toads or Rio Viejo toads	Cane toad (Rhinella marinus)		Map now out of date.
Hylidae - 1 sub-family, 3 genera, 78 species
Genus	Common names	Example species	Example photo	Australian range
Cyclorana - 13 species Steindachner, 1867	Water holding frogs	Striped burrowing frog (Cyclorana alboguttata)
Litoria - 64 species Tschudi, 1838	Tree frogs	White's tree frog (Litoria caerulea)
Nyctimystes - 1 species Stejneger, 1916	Big eyed tree frogs	Australian lace-lid (Nyctimystes dayi )
Microhylidae - 1 sub-family, 2 genera, 19 species
Genus	Common names	Example species	Example photo	Australian range
Austrochaperina - 5 species Fry, 1912	Nursery frogs	Fry's frog (Austrochaperina fryi)
Cophixalus - 14 species Boettger, 1892	Rainforest frogs	Ornate nurseryfrog (Cophixalus ornatus)
Myobatrachidae - 3 sub-families, 20 genera, 119 species (3 extinct)
Genus	Common names	Example species	Example photo	Australian range
Adelotus - 1 species Ogilby, 1907	Tusked frog	Tusked frog (Adelotus brevis)
Arenophryne - 2 species Tyler, 1976	Sandhill frog	Sandhill frog (Arenophryne rotunda)
Assa - 1 species Tyler, 1972	Pouched frog	Pouched frog (Assa darlingtoni)
Crinia - 15 species Tschudi, 1838	Australian froglets	Common eastern froglet (Crinia signifera)
Geocrinia - 7 species Blake, 1973	Ground froglets	Smooth frog (Geocrinia laevis)
Heleioporus - 6 species Gray, 1841	Giant burrowing frogs	Giant burrowing frog (Heleioporus australiacus)
Lechriodus - 1 species Boulenger, 1882	Cannibal frogs	Fletcher's frog (Lechriodus fletcheri)
Limnodynastes - 13 species Fitzinger, 1843	Australian swamp frogs	Eastern banjo frog (Limnodynastes dumerilli)
Metacrinia - 1 species Parker, 1940	Nicholl's toadlet	Nicholl's toadlet (Metacrinia nichollsi)	-
Mixophyes - 5 species Günther, 1864	Barred frogs	Great barred frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus)
Myobatrachus - 1 species Tyler, 1976	Turtle frog	Turtle frog (Myobatrachus gouldii)
Neobatrachus - 10 species Peters, 1863	Stubby frogs	Painted frog (Neobatrachus pictus)
Notaden - 4 species Günther, 1873	Australian spadefoot toads	Crucifix toad (Notaden bennettii)
Opisthodon - 2 species Steindachner, 1867	-	Ornate burrowing frog (Opisthodon ornatus)
Paracrinia - 1 species Heyer and Liem, 1976	Haswell's froglet	Haswell's froglet (Paracrinia haswelii)
Philoria - 6 species Spencer, 1901	Mountain frogs	Sphagnum frog (Philoria sphagnicolus)
Pseudophryne - 13 species Fitzinger, 1843	Toadlets or brood frogs	Red-crowned toadlet (Pseudophryne australis)
Rheobatrachus - 2 species Liem, 1973	Gastric brooding frogs	Southern gastric brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus)
Spicospina - 1 species Roberts, Horwitz, Wardell-Johnson, Maxson, and Mahony, 1997	Sunset frog	Sunset frog (Spicospina flammocaerulea)	-
Taudactylus - 6 species Straughan and Lee, 1966	Torrent frogs	Eungella torrent frog (Taudactylus eungellensis)
Uperoleia - 24 species Gray, 1841	Australian toadlets	Tyler's toadlet (Uperoleia tyleri)
Ranidae - 1 genus, 1 species
Genus	Common names	Example species	Example photo	Australian range
Rana - 1 species Linnaeus, 1758	True frogs	Australian wood frog (Rana daemeli)
Salamandridae - 1 genus, 1 species (introduced)
Genus	Common names	Example species	Example photo	Australian range
Lissotriton - 1 species Bell, 1839	Common newts	Smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)