Animal Species:Red-crowned Toadlet
Despite its name, this is not a toad but a colourful little frog.
Red-crowned Toadlet, Pseudophryne australis
Gunther Schmida
© Australian Museum
Identification
The Red-crowned Toadlet is easy to identify by the bright orange-red triangle or 'T' shape on its head and a stripe on its lower back of the same colour. On its belly is a striking, marbled, black and white pattern.
Size range
3 cm
Distribution
The Red-crowned Toadlet is restricted to the Hawkesbury sandstone areas surrounding Sydney.
Habitat
The Red-crowned Toadlet lives in forests and woodlands, and heath (Hawkesbury sandstone only).
Communication
The calls of Red-crowned Toadlets can be heard all year round. They call several times in quick succession, as these frogs commonly live in small colonies and answer each other.
Life cycle
Hatching occurs when the tadpoles of the Red-crowned Toadlet are well developed and the site has had heavy rainfall. Until then, the male frog usually stays close to the developing eggs, but this is probably to defend the breeding site rather than the eggs.
Mating and reproduction
The Red-crowned Toadlet breeds in damp leaf litter.
Classification
- Species:
- australis
- Genus:
- Pseudophryne
- Family:
- Myobatrachidae
- Order:
- Anura
- Subclass:
- Lissamphibia
- Subphylum:
- Vertebrata
- Phylum:
- Chordata
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
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Tags toadlet, frogs, amphibians, vertebrates, identification, wildlife of sydney,