Litoria pallida

Conservation Status

Calling Period

Description

A medium-sized species of frog reaching up to nearly 4 cm in body length. It has a grey or brown back, with darker mottling or patches. There is a dark brown stripe from the nostril to the arm that becomes patches at the sides. There is sometimes also a yellow or white stripe that follows underneath the dark brown stripe. The belly is white, and the male has a yellow throat. The pupil is horizontal, and the iris is gold in the upper half and dark brown in the lower half. Fingers are unwebbed and toes are three-quarters webbed, both with very small discs. The male has pale pink sides when calling.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid as clusters that float on the surface of the water in floodplain areas, temporary swamps, and ditches. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to 6 cm and are gold or grey in colour, with parallel gold lines on the lower half of the back. They often remain at the bottom of water bodies, and take two to three months to develop into frogs. Breeds during spring to summer.

Similar Species

Looks very similar to the many other rocket frog species in its distribution. Looks most similar to Litoria nigrofrenata, Litoria inermis, Litoria tornieri and Litoria watjulumensis, but has mottling on its back that Litoria nigrofrenata lacks, has a different back colour to Litoria tornieri, and has a darker stripe from the tip of the snout to the eye than Litoria inermis. Litoria watjulumensis has a longer stripe from the tip of the snout to the side.