Philoria loveridgei

Conservation Status

Calling Period

Description

A small species of frog reaching up to 3 cm in body length. It has a light brown or dark brown back, often with a large black patch on the lower half. There is a black stripe from the tip of the snout to the arm, which is sometimes wide enough to cover the side of the head. The belly is white, and the male has a brown throat with white specks. The pupil is horizontal, and the iris is gold in the upper half and dark brown in the lower half. Fingers and toes are unwebbed, both without discs. The female has large flanges on the first and second finger, which help to whip up protective foam around the eggs as they are laid.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid as a small foamy mass in wet mud burrows under rocks, logs, and leaf litter. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to nearly 2 cm and are mostly transparent white, only developing brown colour in later growth stages. They often remain inside the broken-down egg mass feeding on their own yolk reserves, and may take one to four months to develop into frogs. Breeds during spring to summer.

Similar Species

Looks similar to Philoria knowlesi, Philoria kundagungan, Philoria pughi, and Philoria richmondensis near its distribution, but usually has a different back colour to Philoria kundagungan, Philoria pughi, and Philoria richmondensis.