Growling grass frog

The growling grass frog, green and gold frog, blue-thighed tree frog, southern bell frog, warty bell frog or green and golden frog (Ranoidea raniformis) is a tree frog from Australia.  It lives in South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.  It also lives in Tasmania.  It lives in New Zealand as an invasive specie.

When people see this frog, it is usually sitting on plants near ponds, dams or other bodies of water that do not dry up.  It sometimes hides under logs.  Sometimes the tadpoles become frogs in the fall and sometimes they stay tadpoles through the winter and become frogs in the spring.

Scientists are not sure why this frog is endangered.  It could be because there is more ultraviolet radiation than there used to be.  It could be because invasive species, for example the eastern mosquitofish, eat its eggs and tadpoles.  This frog can also catch the fungal disease chytridiomycosis.

References

Category:Pelodryadidae
Category:Frogs of Oceania