Pilbara toadlet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pilbara toadlet |
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The Pilbara toadlet (Uperoleia saxatilis) is a tiny frog that lives in Australia. It is a special type of frog found only in the dry, rocky Pilbara region. These little frogs are good at burrowing, which means they dig into the ground. You can often find them in rocky gorges and creeks, especially after big tropical storms bring lots of rain. Its scientific name, saxatilis, means "rock-dwelling," which perfectly describes where it lives!
What the Pilbara Toadlet Looks Like
These tiny frogs are only about 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long. They have small legs and a narrow nose. They also have large glands on their skin and wide webbing between their toes. Their bodies are brown with darker spots, and they have red patches on their upper legs.
Pilbara toadlets eat termites and other small insects they find underground. Male toadlets like to sit among the rocks. From there, they can make their calls louder and direct them towards the female frogs. The closest relative to the Pilbara toadlet is the mole toadlet (Uperoleia talpa). They look very similar, but the mole toadlet has a higher-pitched and stronger call.
How the Pilbara Toadlet Was Discovered
The Pilbara toadlet was recently identified as a new species. Scientists used DNA analysis to figure this out. This special method helps researchers tell apart frog species that look very much alike.
Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, and the Western Australian Museum and University of Western Australia in Perth worked together on this discovery. Renee Catullo, a student from ANU, shared some good news: "It appears to be safe from a conservation point of view." This means the species is not currently in danger of disappearing.
Toadlets are native to Australia. With this new discovery, there are now 27 known species of toadlets, making them the second-largest group of frog species in the country. This discovery was part of a bigger project. Scientists are using genetic analysis to understand the true number of toadlet species. DNA helps them tell apart very similar species. Renee Catullo explained that the frogs themselves can tell each other apart by their different calls, even if humans find it hard to hear the differences!
