Heleioporus australiacus
Copyright © Hal Cogger
Heleioporus australiacus tadpole
Copyright © Marion Anstis
Distribution map
Distribution Map of Heleioporus australiacus
Copyright © Hal Cogger
Status
IUCN Classification:
Vulnerable
(International Union for Conservation of Nature)
Bioregion occurrence:
(this is not a distribution map)
State occurrence:
Links
- Giant Burrowing Frog
Frogs of Victoria page on Heleioporus australiacus
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Heleioporus australiacus
Family: Myobatrachidae
Common name: Giant Burrowing Frog
Description: This frog is usually black, chocolate brown or grey on its back. The sides of the body have scattered yellow spots and a stripe runs from under each eye through to each tympanum (tight membrane covering the entrance to the ear). The skin on the back is rough and warty and breeding males often have black spines on the backs of their fingers. The belly of this frog is white and granular. The head is rounded and very broad. The toes have some slight webbing.
Size: 90 mm
Habitat: Mainly restricted to the Hawkesbury Sandstone region. This frog lives around sandy creek beds with Yabby burrows.
Call: An owl-like call "oo..oo..oo". Call available in 
Windows Media or 
Quicktime audio. Recording Copyright © David Stewart.
Breeding: Males call in spring and autumn from burrows in the banks of creeks or dams. The males either construct these burrows or use existing ones built by Yabbies. Females lay their eggs in the burrows and the tadpoles are eventually flushed into the creek when it rains.
Eggs: Are laid in foamy masses in the male's burrow or amongst dense vegetation.
Tadpoles: Are large in size and very plump. The body colour is usually black or very dark grey to brown. These tadpoles are very slow moving.
Similar species: Sometimes this species is mistaken for the introduced Cane Toad, Bufo marinus. The vertical pupils that this species has in combination with its yellow colouring and lack of glands behind the head easily distinguishes it from this introduced pest.
Conservation Information
Suspected threatening processes
- Inappropriate catchment management, including degraded water quality
- Inappropriate fire regimes
- Herbicides, insecticides, eutrophication due to excessive nutrients
- Habitat modification (e.g. vegetation clearing, invasive weeds)
Population size: An estimate of the total number of adults present in the species entire range is 10001-50000 individuals, or size is unknown but suspected to be large. Some factors affecting population size and distribution are known, but 1 or more major factors are unknown.
Population trend in Australia over the past 50 years: Population size known to be decreasing.
Knowledge of population trend in Australia: Nation-wide monitoring, but not with statistical sensitivity.
Population concentration: Not known to concentrate or exist in discrete locations. (e.g. the number of sites in which individuals group together either seasonally, such as breeding sites, or they may occupy discrete habitat patches within the broader landscape, such as discrete water bodies or drainage units.)
Ongoing management activities in Australia: Management mostly related to enforcement of conservation laws.
Reproductive potential for recovery: The average number of eggs deposited per adult female per year is >1000 eggs/female/year. Minimum age at which females are known or suspected to first reproduce is 4-6 years.
Range size in Australia: The size of the geographic area over which the taxon is distributed: 1001-80000 km² (up to 1% area of Australia or about the area of Tasmania).
Distribution trend: Decline, if any, unknown. (This is an estimate of change in the portion of the total range that is occupied or utilised; it may not equal the change in total range.)
Knowledge of distribution in Australia: Broad range limits or habitat associations are known, but local occurrence cannot be predicted accurately.
References
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.
Swan, G. 2001. Green Guide to Frogs of Australia. New Holland: Sydney.