Crawling Toadlet

Pseudophryne guentheri

This ground-dwelling species has a robust, somewhat flattened body, and small head and short limbs. The back has a warty appearance and is mottled with browns and greys. A bar between the eyes and an X above the shoulders are often visible. The belly is boldly blotched with black on a white background. There are two large tubercles on the hind feet. They attain a maximum length of 3.5 cm. Female crawling frogs are generally larger and stouter than males.

Breeding

Breeding begins with the first rains in autumn and continues through into early winter. As with the unrelated Heleioporus species, male crawling frogs excavate a burrow by which they call to attract a female. Mating and egg laying take place before there is water in the ponds and creek lines where they breed.

Call

The call is a short, sharp, grating sound repeated frequently. Male crawling frogs usually call from a shallow burrow beneath litter or vegetation, alongside a stream or swamp.

Eggs

As many as 100 relatively large eggs are laid singly in damp depressions or burrows excavated by the males. The eggs will develop up to a point, then stop and "wait" until winter rains fill water bodies and eventually flood the burrows. The tadpoles then hatch out and begin to swim and feed in the pond or creek.

Tadpoles

Tadpoles of this species are pear-shaped with the tail length about one and a half times that of the body. The body is mottled with brown and grey in a variety of patterns. Tadpoles attain a maximum length of about 3 cm.

Other Notes

This species sometimes comes in to contact with Western Toadlet, from which it can be distinguished by much large digging tubercles on the feet.