Crinia signifera sightings - Frogwatch ACT and Region

Common Eastern Froglet

Current conservation status: Common, occupies a number of habitats.

Family: Myobatrachidae

Appearance: Their colour is variable, ranging from grey-brown to reddish and can be smooth or covered in a series of ridges. All individuals have dark, triangular markings at the upper lips and darker bands on the hind legs. The underside of the body is granular with a black and white blotched pattern.

Length: 25-30mm

Breeding: Breeds mainly during spring and winter (June to January). Calling is continuous throughout the day, but activity decreases considerably in cold nights.

Habitat: This species is found in a wide range of habitats, including marshes, ponds, seepages and farm dams, from sea-level to above 2000m altitude in the alpine zone.

Distribution: Very common and abundant in the region and in south-eastern Australia.

Biology: Male frogs begin calling regularly from pools during the wetter parts of winter and spring (later at higher altitudes). Each female lays up to 250 eggs, which are deposited on the bottom of pools or are attached to aquatic vegetation or submerged moss. Amplexus (mating) pairs may sometimes be found floating in small pools during the days. Tadpoles may be seen in high numbers in shallow pools from late spring until the end of summer. The newly metamorphosed frogs are very small, being about 7mm in body length. They grow rapidly during the warmer months and attain adult size the following summer. Adults prey on a diverse range of invertebrates including beetles, spiders and centipedes.

Call: A characteristic repeated clicking, "crick...crick...crick...crick..."".