Green and golden bell frog facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Green and golden bell frog |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Ranoidea (genus)
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| Species: |
aurea
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| Synonyms | |
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The green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea) is a frog from Australia, but it also lives in New Zealand as an invasive specie.
Male adult frogs can be 5.7 to 6.9 cm long. Female adult frogs can be 6.5 to 10.8 cm long. These frogs are green with bronze spots. They have black stripes from their noses over their ears and down their bodies. Their bellies are white and parts of their legs can be bright blue. These frogs have teeth.
Green and golden bell frogs do not climb well. They like to live near permanent bodies of water and temporary bodies of water that have no fish in them. Adult frogs eat anything they can, even other green and golden bell frogs.
The frogs lay 3000-10,000 eggs at a time. At first, the eggs float together on top of the water, but then they sink. The tadpoles eat algae, bacteria and dead things.
There used to be so many green and golden bell frogs that people would catch them to feed to snakes or to use in school dissection classes. By the 1990s, there were fewer green and golden bell frogs. Scientists say this is because of habitat fragmentation, which means people building things in between places where the frogs live, and because of invasive species such as the mosquito fish that eat green and golden bell frog tadpoles.
In 2000, people building tennis courts for the 2000 Summer Olympics saw green and golden bell frogs nearby, so they stopped building.
This frog is an invasive specie in New Zealand. In the 1860s, the Auckland Acclimatisation Society released the frog in New Zealand on purpose. The frogs on the South Island all died because the weather was not good for them. Today, it lives on New Zealand's North Island.
Images for kids
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Profile and dorsal views of a green and golden bell frog
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Ranoidea aurea (left) was first classed as a species of the genus Rana (right). There are many physical similarities, including a pointy snout, long legs, and almost complete toe webbing. The overall body shape is similar to many Rana species.
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The historic (grey) and the current (black) distribution of the green and golden bell frog
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A green and golden bell frog with a dark colouration
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Green and golden bell frog demonstrating camouflage within reedy environments
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Development of green and golden bell frog
See also
In Spanish: Litoria aurea para niños
