Fantastic Frogs
As part of the Manly Dam Biodiversity Project, we engaged eminent herpetologist, Dr Arthur White, to conduct a comprehensive survey of Manly Warringah War Memorial Park (and bushland corridors). The result? The resident frog list has now been doubled to 10 species of frog, including 1 threatened species! They are featured below.
Yet another reason to protect this special place.
Red-crowned toadlet
Species: Pseudophryne australis
Conservation Status: Threatened
The Red-crowned Toadlet is an unmistakable small frog, usually measuring less than 30 mm long. It is dark brown to black, with distinctive reddish-orange patches, one between the eyes and one along the rump. It also has a white patch at the base of each arm. The belly is marbled black and white.
The Red-crowned Toadlet is threatened by urban development. Urbanisation results directly in habitat clearance and fragmentation and indirectly, urban development degrades Red-crowned Toadlet habitat through disruption of catchment hydrology and altering the pH of the soil and the composition of plant species.
To find out more about the urgency of saving frog habitat read this article featuring Dr Jodi Rowley, a frog biologist at the Australian Museum and Northern Beaches local.
Meet more of the frogs of Manly Dam below.
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Stony Creek Frog
Species: Litoria wilcoxi
Conservation status: Protected -
Eastern Banjo Frog
Species: Limnodynastes dumerilii
Conservation status: Protected -
Striped Marsh Frog
Species: Lymnodynastes peronii
Conservation status: Protected
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Green Stream Frog
Species: Litoria phyllochroa
Conservation status: Protected -
Peron's Tree Frog
Species: Litoria peronii
Conservation status: Protected -
Dwarf Green Tree Frog
Species: Litoria fallax
Conservation status: Protected
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Bleating Tree Frog
Species: Litoria dentata
Conservation status: Protected -
Eastern Froglet
Species: Crinea signifera
Conservation status: Protected -
Verreaux's Tree Frog
Species: Litoria verreauxii
Conservation status: Protected
Why frogs count
Australia has over 240 known species of frog, almost all of which are found nowhere else in the world. Some species are flourishing, like the Striped Marsh Frog. But others like the red-crowned toadlet have declined dramatically since the 1980s, and four have become extinct. FrogID is a national citizen science project that is helping Australian scientists learn more about what is happening to Australia’s frogs. All around the country, people are recording frog calls with nothing more than a smartphone.
Want to get involved?
Download the FrogID app and get counting around Manly Dam and beyond.