Neobatrachus pelobatoides

Conservation Status

Calling Period

Description

A medium-sized frog reaching up to 4.5 cm in body length. It has a brown-grey or yellow-brown back, with olive-green patches and often a thin pale or red longitudinal stripe along the middle. The belly is white. The pupil is vertical, and the iris is silver. Fingers are unwebbed and toes are half-webbed, both without discs. There is also a black or brown-edged metatarsal tubercle on the bottom of each foot: this is a shovel-shaped lump used for burrowing.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid as a cluster that sinks to the bottom of the water in dams, temporary ponds, and rock pools. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to 8.5 cm, and are gold-brown in colour. They swim at all depths of water bodies, and take around five months to develop into frogs. Breeds during autumn to winter after heavy rain.

Similar Species

Looks similar to Neobatrachus albipes, Neobatrachus kunapalari, Neobatrachus sutor, and Neobatrachus wilsmorei in its distribution, but has a different back colour or pattern to all of these species, and lacks white on the upper surface of the hands and feet as present in Neobatrachus albipes.