Southern Bell
Frog
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| (Photo:
Steve Walker) |
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| (Photo:
Steve Walker) |
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| (Photo:
Steve Walker) |
The Southern Bell Frog is large and found throughout the
swamps of the River Murray and South East. Characterised by a loud barking call and
distinctive, colourful skin patterns, this species is one which specialises in feeding on
other frogs - it is a particularly voracious cannibal!
The Southern Bell Frog has a pale
green mid-dorsal stripe with large black spots on its back. The back is rough and warty,
the belly is coarsely granular and the thighs turquoise. The fingers are not webbed, but
the toes are almost fully webbed. This species is closely related to the smooth-skinned
Green and Golden Bell Frog, Litoria aurea, found
in the Eastern States and reportedly the cause of much trouble when it was found in a
disused brick quarry at the site of the athlete's village for the Sydney Olympic Games.
The Southern Bell Frog was probably introduced into the Onkaparinga river system during
the 1960s, but has not been recorded there for some time. Drainage of swamps has reduced
the frog's habitat. For this reason, its status is now described as vulnerable.
Characteristics
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| Southern Bell Frog distribution map |
Size: Males 55-65 mm;
Females 60-104 mm.
Habitat:
Found in large permanent
waterbodies with abundant growth of vegetation near the bank, such as Bool Lagoon.
Breeding: The eggs are pigmented and
deposited in a floating raft which later sinks. The tadpoles can grow up to 100 mm long.
They are pinkish-grey with yellow fins.
Advertisement call: Calls when floating
in open water. The call is a long, medium pitched, modulated
growl, followed by a series of short grunts.
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