Red-backed toadlet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Red-backed Toadlet |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pseudophryne
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| Species: |
coriacea
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| Range of the Red-backed Toadlet | |
Meet the Red-backed Toadlet (Pseudophryne coriacea), a small ground frog found along the eastern coast of Australia. You can find these unique frogs from just north of Sydney all the way up to southeastern Queensland. They live in areas near the coast and in nearby mountain ranges.
Contents
What the Red-backed Toadlet Looks Like
This tiny frog grows to about 35 millimeters long, which is about the size of a small paperclip. Most Red-backed Toadlets are a bright red color. Their backs can be red-orange or even red-brown.
Sometimes, you might spot a special one that is grey-red instead! A dark line, usually black, runs along each side of the frog. This line starts at its nose and goes all the way down its body. It separates the red back from its belly. The belly has a cool pattern of black and white, like marble. Look closely, and you might see a small white spot under each of its front legs!
Where Red-backed Toadlets Live
Red-backed Toadlets love places with lots of trees and moisture. They are often found in rainforests and wet sclerophyll forests. These are forests with tough, leathery-leaved trees.
However, they can also live in drier forests and woodlands. Sometimes, they even appear in open, cleared areas. These frogs prefer spots that get flooded often. You might find them in roadside ditches, near creeks, or in temporary puddles after it rains.
Red-backed Toadlet Calls and Habits
Male Red-backed Toadlets make a special sound, like an "ark" call. It sounds a bit like other frogs in the Pseudophryne family. But their call is a little longer than the calls of the Red-crowned Toadlet or the Bibron's Toadlet.
Males usually call from hidden spots. They like to hide under damp leaves or rotting logs. You can hear them calling during spring, summer, and autumn. They start calling especially after it rains.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Red-backed Toadlets breed after heavy rain. The male frog stays with the eggs in their nest. He might even mate with more than one female in the same nest.
The eggs are laid in these nest sites. When heavy rain floods the nest, the tadpoles hatch! They then develop in the temporary pools of water. Tadpoles grow up quite quickly. This is because the puddles they live in don't last forever.
See also
In Spanish: Pseudophryne coriacea para niños
