Cape York
and tropical north
Queensland have more
than 60 species,
almost half of which are endemic to the area (i.e. found nowhere else).
The most obvious ones
are the
most spectacular - the green
tree
frogs, which come to human dwellings and thrive in
bathrooms,
toilets, near kitchen sinks - anywhere there is water and humidity.
But there are many, many other ones in the bush that are not so easy to
see, and all are native,
except the poisonous cane toad.
Green
Tree
Frogs Green
tree frogs
are the most
beautiful Australian frogs, and we have seven different species: Common
green tree frog (Litoria
caerulea),
white lipped tree frog (Litoria
infrafrenata), graceful tree frog (Litoria
gracilenta), orange eyed tree frog (Litoria
chloris), orange thinghed tree frog (Litoria
xanthomera), eastern dwarf tree frog (Litoria fallax)
and northern dwarf tree frog (Litoria
bicolor).
by teejaybee via Flickr.com
Rocket
Frogs
Another group of Australian frogs is rocket frogs, and in tropical
north Queensland, we have striped rocket frog (Litoria nasuta),
tawny rocket frog (Litoria
nigrofrenata), bumpy
rocket frog (Litoria
inermis),
broad palmed rocket frog (Litoria
latopalmata), and
stony creek frog (Litoria
lesueuri).
by FroggyBeth via Flickr.com
Small
and
Medium Sized Tree Frogs
Other small (4cm long) and medium (6cm long) sized tree frogs include
little red frog (Litoria
rubella),
Javelin frog (Litoria microbelos), whirring tree frog (Litoria
revelata), and northern laughing tree frog (Litoria
rothi).
by FroggyBeth via
Flickr.com
Stream
Frogs
These include green eyed treefrog (Litoria
genimaculata), waterfall frog (L.
nannotis),
common mistfrog (L.
rheocola), mountain mistfrog (L.
nyakalensis), Australian lace lid (Nyctimystes
dayi), sharp snouted dayfrog (Taudactylus
acutirostris), northern tinkerfrog (T.
rheophilus), and northern barred frog (Mixophyes
schevilli).
by dnatheist via Flickr.com
Marsh
Frogs
Marsh
frogs are quite large, up to 7cm long, spotted or striped Australian
frogs with a rounded snout, and in tropical north Queensland we have
marbled marshfrog (Limnodynastes
convexiusculus),
spotted marshfrog (Limnodynastes
tasmaniensis),
brown
striped frog (Limnodynastes peroni), and tusked frog (Adelotus brevis).
by teejaybee via Flickr.com
Burrowing
Frogs
We have the ornate burrowing frog (Limnodynastes
ornatus), scarlet sided pobblebonk (L. terraereginae),
green striped
frog (Cyclorana
alboguttata),
superb collared frog (C.
brevipes),
eastern snapping frog (C.
novaehollandiae), and
northern spadefoot (Notaden
melanoscalphus).
by FroggyBeth via Flickr.com
Woodfrogs
Woodfrogs
are about 6cm long brownish or grey frogs with a pointed head. In
tropical north Queensland we only have one species - the Australian
woodfrog (Rana daemeli),
which
is found from Cape York peninsula in the north to Rollingstone (north
of Townsville) in the south.
by A. Jaszlics via Flickr.com
Froglets
Froglets
are small, greyish brown or grey Australian frogs only 2-3 cm long. In
tropical north Queensland, there is at least two - the torrid froglet (Crinia remota) and
the chirping
froglet (Crinia
deserticola).
The first is found from Cape York to Rollingstone and the second from
Cape York to Childers.
by eyeweed via Flickr.com
Toadlets
Toadlets are small, 2-3cm long brownish grey Australian frogs and in
far north Queensland we have stonemason toadlet (Uperoleia lithomoda)
from Cape York
in the north to Townsville in the south; and mimic toadlet (U. mimola) from
Torres Strait in
the north to
Bowen in the south.
by teejaybee via Flickr.com
Narrow
Mouthed Frogs
We have rattling nursery frog (Cophixalus
hosmeri), buzzling nursery frog (C.
bombiens),
tapping (C.
concinnus), northern tapping (C.
exiguus), creaking (C.
infacetus), mountain top (C.
monticola) and common nursery frog (C.
ornatus); Black Mountain boulder frog
(C.
saxatalis); and
northern
whistling (Sphenophyrne
fryi) and white browed
whistling frog (S.
pluvialis).
Green
Tree
Frogs
Green
tree frogs are very common in Cape York.
They are
the most beautiful of all our frogs, and the easiest to see,
thanks to their often bright colouring and the fact that they are not
hiding on the ground where the brown frogs camouflage.
Instead they are on tree
branches, in camp
kitchens, bathrooms, even toilets, wherever there is
water.
They are beautiful
creatures great to watch.
Common
Green Tree Frog Litoria caerulea
is about 10cm long, green on the back (not the brightest), white under
the belly, and unlike the others it has white eyes.
It lives in all
habitats except rainforest, in eastern and northern Australia, as well
as Papua New Guinea.
White
Lipped Tree Frog White
lipped tree
frog (Litoria
infrafrenata)
is 14cm long, and has about the same colouring except the white stripes
along its lower jaw and back limbs.
Unlike the common green tree frog
above, it has orange eyes. It lives in open forests, paperbark swamps
and suburban areas from Cape York to Rollingstone.
by Un rosarino en
Vietnam via Flickr.com
Orange
Thighed Tree Frog Litoria xanthomera
is smaller - 6cm long, but brighter coloured, with a green back, bright
orange-yellow belly and inside of legs, and reddish orange eyes.
It
lives in tropical rainforests from southern Cape York Peninsula
(Rossville-Ayton
area) in the north, to Paluma Range National Park in the south.
by teejaybee via Flickr.com
Graceful
Green Tree Frog Litoria gracilenta
is even smaller, 4.4cm long, with a bright green upper head and back,
bright orange lower jaw and belly, and brownish orange eyes.
Upper legs
and other parts can be purple. It lives in open forest and woodland,
and comes to green gardens. It is found from Cape York in the north to
NSW in the south.
by bushcritters via
Flickr.com
Orange
Eyed Tree Frog Litoria chloris
is about 6cm long, deep green on the back and yellow to orange under
the belly, with bright orange eyes.
This green tree frog is not found
in Cape York, but in a coastal area between Whitsundays in
the
north and central coast of New South Wales in the south (Port Maquarie
- Newcastle area).
by eyeweed via
Flickr.com
Eastern
Dwarf Tree Frog Litoria fallax
is only 2.5cm long and not as bright green as the three above, more
often it is olive green like the common treefrog.
It has a white
underside and dull orange eyes.
It lives in open forests, near
temporary or permanent waterholes, between the Daintree area in the
north and Sydney in the south.
by Rantz via Flickr.com
Northern
Dwarf Tree Frog Litoria bicolor
is a 3cm long slender frog and also rather dull in colour, compared to
some others above. Green on the back, white under the belly, dull
orange eyes.
It lives in tropical habitats except rainforest, and is
found in northern Australia between Derby in the west and Bowen in the
east, including Cape York peninsula.
White
Lipped Tree
Frog
The first
thing you notice about the white lipped tree frog is its size.
That is
also why its other name is giant
tree frog.
It is the largest tree
frog in the world, and the largest frog in Australia.
That is a fair statement, and a fair size of a frog, at about 14cm of
length.
Only
after the size do you
notice its white lips,
at least when you first see it.
It has white stripes along its lips
as well as hind legs. It has
large, webbed feet,
large eyes with vertical pupils, and its
colour can vary between
green and brown.
A White lipped tree frog on the
outside of our house in
Cooktown.
The white stripes
are present regardeless of the colour of the body, and the stripes go
pink in breeding males.
They are active during the night time, moving quite quickly in the
vegetation, but sleepy
day time, and not so quick to move when outside the
vegetation.
They have quite a wide distribution in Indonesia and New Guinea, but in Australia they are only found
in the coastal areas of Cape York peninsula (south a bit
further, almost until Townsville).
They live in rainforests, but they also love banana plantations and
come to houses.
They eat insects and
spiders.
The males sound like barking dogs
as they call the females after the rains during the Wet Season.
Up to 4000 eggs
are laid in the water.
Tadpoles are
brown, with a lighter stripe along the sides of their body.
White lipped tree frog can
live up to 10 years which is pretty good for a frog.
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contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
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Not to mention locals'
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This site uses British
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Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.