Plants and Animals Index

Corroboree Frog

Taxonomy   Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Amphibia Order Anura Family Myobatrachidae Genus Pseudophryne Species Corroboree and Pengilleyi

Illustration: Marjorie Crosby- Fairall © Murray Darling Basin Commission

Scientific name 

Pseudophryne corroboree (Northern)

Psuedonphryne pengilleyi (Southern)

Description

There are two species Corroboree Frog, the Northern Corroboree Frog (Pseudophryne corroboree) and the Southern Corroboree Frog (Pseudophryne pengilleyi).

Both Corroboree frogs have highly distinctive yellow and black striped skin.  The stripes run longitudinally along the back and onto the limbs.  The skin on the frogs back is granular and lumpy.  The skin of the belly is smooth and either black and yellow or black and white.  The toes are not webbed.

The Northern Corroboree Frog has a lime-green tinge to its yellow stripes.  The northern form is also slightly smaller than its southern counterpart.  The adults are about 2.5cm to 3cm long.

The Southern Corroboree Frog has broad, unbroken pure yellow stripes.  The males may reach 2.8cm in length while the female are up to 3.5cm long.

The calls of the Corroboree frogs have variously been described as like a grating, upward inflected 'ark', short, harsh “squelch” and as a nasal grating “Ah-rurkk …urkk…urkk”.

Habitat

The Corroboree frogs are small, ground dwelling frogs, native to Southern Tablelands of Australia.  The non-breeding habitat for both species occurs in forest, woodland and heath.

The Northern Corroboree Frog is more widely distributed across about 550km of the Brindabella and Fiery Ranges in Namadgi National Park, Australian Capital Territory, and Kosciuszko National Park and Buccleuch State Forest in New South Wales.  It is found at altitudes of 1000m above sea level.

The Southern Corroboree Frog is found only within a fragmented region restricted to sub-alpine areas within Koscuiszko National Park in southern New South Wales from Smiggin Holes in the south, northwards to the Maragle Range about 5 km west of Cabramurra.  The species occupies a relatively narrow altitudinal strip between about 1300m and 1760m above sea level.

Behaviour

These frogs feed mainly on small invertebrates such as ants, beetles, insect larvae and mites.  Tadpoles feed on algae and small bits of organic material.

Corroboree frogs hibernate during winter under whatever shelter they can find.  This may be snow gum trees, or bits of bark or fallen leaves.

Sexual maturity is reached at four years of age, with one year as an embryo and tadpole and two years as a juvenile.

Breeding occurs around December and both species breed at ground level.  Adults usually have only one breeding season.

The males build chamber nests within the grasses and moss.  Males compete for females by impressing them with their song.  A female will come to the burrow and lay her eggs for the male to fertilise, then she will leave and a new female will come and lay her eggs and, so on.  Each male can attract up to ten females to his burrow and he may dig a new burrow if his first is filled with eggs.

The female lays between 20 and 38 eggs which are 3.5mm in diameter.  The male deposits his sperm directly onto the eggs.  Tadpoles develop but remain within the protective egg coat until hatching.  This occurs after 4 to 6 months when high ground-water levels after rain cause the nest to become flooded.  Tadpole development takes 6 to 8 months.  Metamorphosis occurs between December and February.

The Northern Corroboree Frog breeds near shallow pools, fens, seepages, wet grassland or wet heaths.

The Southern Corroboree Frog prefers to breed in sphagnum bogs and wet heath in sub-alpine areas and dense patches of herbs in openings or seepages amongst fallen tussocks at lower elevation (bog pools at high altitudes above 1300m and in shallow seepage pools in gullies at lower altitudes of 1000m to 1400m).

The male Southern Corroboree Frog guards the eggs in the nest.

Notes

'Corroboree' is an Indigenous Australian word for a gathering or meeting, traditionally the people attending paint themselves with yellow markings similar to those of this frog.

The Corroboree frogs are the first vertebrates discovered that are able to produce their own poisonous alkaloids; frogs usually obtain these alkaloids through their diet.  The poisonous alkaloid is secreted from the skin and acts as a defence mechanism for the frogs.  It is also thought that the alkaloid provides the frog with some protection against skin infections by microbes.  The unique alkaloid produced by the Corroboree frogs has been named pseudophrynamine.

Status and Threats

Both species of Corroboree frog have declined dramatically in the past thirty years.  However, the Southern Corroboree Frog has suffered more serious declines.

National                             Critically Endangered
New South Wales               Endangered

Suspected threatening processes

References/Sources

Anstis, M.  2002.  Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia.  Reed New Holland: Sydney.

Barker, J., G.C.  Grigg and M.J.  Tyler.  1995.  A Field Guide to Australian Frogs.  Surrey Beatty & Sons: Chipping Norton.

Cogger, H.G.  2000.  Reptiles and amphibians of Australia.  Reed Books: Sydney.

Robinson, M.  2002.  A Field Guide to Frogs of Australia.  Australian Museum/Reed New Holland: Sydney.

Daly, J.  W., H.  M.  Garraffo, L.  K.  Pannell and T.  F.  Spande.  1990.  Alkaloids from Australian frogs (Myobatrachidae): Pseudophrynamines and pumiliotoxins.  Journal of Natural Products 53(2): 401-421.

Osborne, W.  1991, Recovery Plan for the Southern Corroboree Frog (Pseudophryne corroboree).  NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Campbell, (ed) A.  Declines and Disappearances of Australian frogs, Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia, Canberra.  1999 ISBN 0 642 54656 8

Website: Corroboree Frog,  Frogs Australia Network .

DEWR: http://www.environment.gov.au/sprat

Gillespie, G., Robertson, P.  & Lemckert, F.  2004.  Pseudophryne corroboree.  In: IUCN 2006.  2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.  <www.iucnredlist.org>.  Downloaded on 28 March 2007.

Gillespie, G., Robertson, P., Lemckert, F.  & Littlejohn, M.  2004.  Pseudophryne pengilleyi.  In: IUCN 2006.  2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.  <www.iucnredlist.org>.  Downloaded on 28 March 2007.