Mixophyes fleayi

Conservation Status

Calling Period

Description

A large species of frog reaching up to 9 cm in body length. It has a brown, grey-brown or copper-brown back, with several darker patches along the middle that often form a continuous stripe that starts as a Y-shape between the eyes. There is a black stripe from the nostril to past the eye, and a black triangular patch on the tip of the snout. The sides are light brown, yellow or cream coloured, with black spots. The belly is yellow or white. The pupil is vertical and the iris is dark brown, with a blue or silver crescent in the upper half. The legs and arms have dark horizontal bars and the backs of the thighs are grey-brown. Fingers are unwebbed and toes are half webbed, both without discs.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid loosely or in clusters under the water in shallow wet gravel or leaf litter nests that are dug next to rocky streams. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to 6.5 cm, and are gold-brown or black in colour. They often remain at the bottom of water bodies, and take around 12 months to develop into frogs. Breeds during winter to autumn.

Similar Species

Looks similar to Mixophyes fasciolatus and Mixophyes iteratus in its distribution, but has a different eye colour.