Desert Tree Frog

Description:

◾Colour: it is fawn, grey or brown above with a pinkish hue, flecked with black or gold markings. A darker strip runs down the side of the head, through the eye and along the side of the body. It is white, cream or yellowish below usually with a lemon-yellow groin. It changes colour in dry conditions becoming white to prevent it from over heating in direct sunlight. ◾Tadpoles: uniformly brown and can be up to 5 cm long. ◾Distinctive feature: dark stripe from its eye along the side of its body. Also, its horizontal pupil and large discs on the tips of its fingers and toes. ◾Size: males 2.8 – 3.7 cm; females 3.3 – 4.3 cm.

Notes:

◾Call: a loud, harsh vibrant screech. A chorus can sound like seagulls. ◾Diet: it forages mostly on the ground at night for flies, beetles, ants, termites and other arthropods. ◾Movement: this ground dwelling and climbing frog is often found clinging to windows in summer, with its internal organs visible through its translucent skin. ◾Breeding: breeding males congregate on the ground or in trees and shrubs beside still or slow moving water. They breed at any time of year in the north, as long as water is present. In other areas they breed after summer rains. Females lay clusters of 40-300 eggs (about 1 mm in diameter) in a thin film on the surface of still water. Tadpoles metamorphose into young frogs within 14 (in warmer regions) - 40 days. The froglets leave the water before they lose their tails.