Assa darlingtoni

Conservation Status

Calling Period

Description

A small species of frog reaching up to 2 cm in body length. It has a brown or dark brown back, with darker patches. There is often a V-shaped marking between the eyes. There is a black stripe from behind the eye to the groin. The belly is cream-coloured, with brown mottling. The pupil is horizontal and the iris is gold. Fingers and toes are unwebbed, both without discs. The male has a pouch on both sides of its body, into which the tadpoles wriggle before developing and then emerging as tiny, fully formed frogs.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid on land under wet leaf litter and rocks. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to nearly 1.5 cm and are white in colour. After hatching from their eggs, they wriggle into pouches on the sides of the male frog and complete their development inside before little frogs emerge, a process that takes two to three months. Breeds during spring to autumn.

Similar Species

Most similar to Assa wollumbin, but populations outside Mount Wollumbin (Mount Warning) belong to Assa darlingtoni. Also looks similar to Crinia parinsignifera, Crinia signifera, Crinia tinnula, Philoria loveridgei, Philoria richmondensis and Philoria sphagnicolus in its distribution, but the Philoria species have thicker arms and different back patterns, and the Crinia species have a rougher belly texture.