Litoria wilcoxii

Conservation Status

Calling Period

Description

A large species of frog reaching up to 7 cm in body length. It has a brown or reddish-brown back, sometimes with darker patches. There is often a black stripe from the tip of the snout to the arm, that becomes small patches as it reaches the side. The belly is white. The pupil is horizontal and the iris is gold in the upper half, and dark brown in the lower half. The backs of the thighs and groin are sometimes yellow, pale blue, or white with black spots. Fingers are unwebbed and toes are three-quarters webbed, both with small discs. Breeding males can be uniform bright yellow, or with yellow on the side and limbs only. Males are also significantly smaller than females, reaching up to only 5cm in body length.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid as a single cluster in shallow stream-side pools, or attached to rocks in streams and creeks. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to 4.5 cm and are gold-brown in colour. They use their mouthparts to stick to rocks in order to avoid being swept away by flowing water, and take around one and a half to three months to develop into frogs. Breeds during spring to summer.

Similar Species

Looks very similar to Litoria jungguy in its distribution. DNA testing is needed to distinguish these two species, although their distribution is mostly different. Also looks very similar to Litoria lesueuri that also has a mostly different distribution, except for a possible overlap in the Sydney region.