Eastern Banjo Frog

Scientific name: Limnodynastes dumerilii

Updated

04/02/21
Read time

2 minutes

Eastern Banjo Frog (Limnodynastes dumerilii), Namadgi National Park, ACT. Photographed during the ACT Bush Blitz. Image: Jodi Rowley
© Australian Museum

Fast Facts

Classification

Genus

Limnodynastes

Species

dumerilii

Family

Myobatrachidae

Order

Anura

Subclass

Lissamphibia

Subphylum

Vertebrata

Kingdom

Animalia
Size Range

7 cm

Description

A large species of frog reaching up to 7.5 cm in body length. It has a brown or grey-brown back, with orange or yellow mottling on the sides. There is a pale or yellow stripe from under the eye to the shoulder. The belly is mottled brown and yellow, and the throat is sometimes yellow. The pupil is horizontal and the iris is golden-brown. Fingers are unwebbed and toes are one-quarter webbed, both without discs.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid as a foamy mass on the surface of stream pools, dams, and ponds. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to 7 cm and are dark brown or golden brown in colour, with gold clusters. They often remain on the bottom of water bodies. They take four to five months to develop into frogs, although tadpoles in colder areas may take much longer. Breeds during spring to autumn.

Similar Species

It is divided into five subspecies, each differing in their distribution and only slightly in call and colour. Looks similar to Heleioporus australiacus, Neobatrachus pictus, and Neobatrachus sudellae in its distribution, but all of these species have a vertical pupil instead of a horizontal pupil, as well as different back colours and patterns. Also looks very similar to Limnodynastes interioris and Limnodynastes terraereginae in its distribution, but is usually smaller and has less toe webbing than Limnodynastes interioris, and lacks the distinct inner red thighs of Limnodynastes terraereginae.