A medium-sized species of frog reaching up to 3.7 cm in body length. It has a tan, cream-brown, or reddish-brown back with a wide brown longitudinal stripe along the middle that starts between the eyes. There is a brown stripe from the nostril to past the arm. The belly is cream to white and the male has a yellow or orange throat with dark flecks. The pupil is horizontal and the iris is copper-gold. The groin is yellow, red, or orange and the backs of the thighs are orange, often with dark patches and occasionally with small dark spots. The backs of the thighs are bright orange, occasionally with black spots or patches. Fingers are long and unwebbed, and toes are three-quarters webbed, both with prominent discs. Males have a yellow back in the breeding season.
Until 2025, this species included disjunct populations in the Atherton Tablelands and Eungella Plateau of QLD. However, recent scientific research using a combination of morphological, genetic and bioacoustic analyses, including the use of FrogID recordings, revealed that these populations are actually distinct species.
Eggs are laid singly or in small rows, and are attached to vegetation near the surface of the water in permanent or ephemeral ponds, swamps, dams, and slow-flowing pools in streams. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to nearly 6 cm and are dark brown in colour, often with a dull copper sheen. They often remain near the surface of water bodies, and take around three months to develop into frogs. Breeds mostly during spring to summer.
Looks similar to Litoria ewingii, Litoria dentata, Litoria jervisiensis, Litoria littlejohni and Litoria verreauxii in its distribution, but has black spots or patches on the backs of the thighs.
Photo: Stephen Mahony
Photo: Stephen Mahony
Photo: Jodi Rowley
Photo: Jodi Rowley
By: Brett Malcolm
By: Jodi Rowley
Found from south of Sydney in NSW, through to southeast QLD along the coast and ranges.