Frogs (lat. Salientia):

There are 4 families of Frogs represented in Australia:

• the Tree Frogs (fam. Hylidae)*
• the Southern Frogs (fam. Leptodactylidae)
• the True Frogs (fam. Ranidae)
• the Narrow-mouthed Frogs (fam. Leptodactilidae)
  

More recently two new families have been proposed to include what are regarded as mainly Australian regional forms - the family Myobatrachidae* which includes the Australian Leptodactylids and another family Pelodryadidae to group the Australian Hylids.

* Frog families that occur at or near Kioloa.

There is only one principal representative of the Toads (fam. Bufonidae) in Australia, which was introduced in 1935. The pest species - the Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) - does not occur in Kioloa. If you want to know more about it click here.

The Tree Frogs (fam. Hylidae)

Green and Golden Swamp Frog or Green and Golden Bell Frog
(Litoria aurea)

• It was a common species in in coastal NSW but its distribution has declined dramatically over recent years, the reason is unclear.
• Its colour ranges from dull olive to bright emerald green, with varying amounts of brown or copper/bronze blotches
• Its groin and the back of its thighs are bright turquoise blue to blue-green.
• The belly is white.

Habitat:

• The preferred habitat is large permanent swamps and ponds with plenty of emergent vegetation.

Size:

• It grows up to 10 centimetres in length.

Call:

• A distinctive, four part call, starting with a slow, drawn-out "crawk-crawk-crawk", followed by several short grunts, "crok-crok".

Lesueur's Frog (Litoria lesueuri)

• a predominantly terrestrial amphibian
• a powerful leaping frog, it may be encountered a fair way from water
• Upper colouration is variable from pale fawn through to a dark brown colour. Males can also become quite yellow.
• The belly is white.
  

Habitat:

• These frogs are tolerant of habitats from heath and dry sclerophyll forests to heavy wet rainforests.
• They favour shallow rocky streams
  

Size:

• a maximum of seven centimetres

Call:

• The male call is described as gentle purring trill repeated in a time span of two or three seconds, heard sometime during the daylight hours from August to May.

The Myobatrachid Frogs (fam. Myobatrachidae)

Brown Striped Frog or Striped Marsh Frog
(Limnodynastes Peronii)

• Light brown or grey-brown beside with a series of irregular dark brown stripes and spots.
• There is usually a broad band running from the centre of the head, along the body to the vent.
• White below, often with a few brown flecks.
  

Habitat:

• Usually found associated with permanent water throughout its range, e.g. swamps, marshes dams and ponds.
• It appears tolerant of polluted water.
  

Size:

• The Brown Striped Frog grows to an average length of sixty-five millimetres.

Call:

• The call is a loud "tok" sounding as though a hammer is hitting anvil. These are repeated at intervals of a few seconds