Species details
Litoria ewingi (pre 2024 reclassification) (Brown Tree Frog)
Family: HYLIDAE
Size range: They are up to 50 mm long.
Description: Brown Tree Frogs have a pale brown body with dark patches and a dark patch on the middle of the back. They are slender, medium sized frogs with a broad head and rounded snout. The rest of the frog's colour is a pale brown except in south east South Australia and parts of the Murray Valley where the back can be green. There is also a narrow black or brown stripe from the snout to the shoulder and a pale stripe beneath the eye. The back of the thighs are yellow-orange and sometimes have small black spots. Their fingers are free of webbing and their toes are half webbed. Breeding males may have a throat sac and a nuptial pad on the thumb (nuptial pads are skin spines that occur during the breeding season). The tympanum, or ear, is distinct .
Habitat: The Brown Tree Frog is the only Litoria species (tree frog) naturally found in Adelaide and the Mt Lofty Ranges. In settled areas it is often found clinging to windows and is a common visitor to bathrooms. In native vegetation it can be found on the ground or damp vegetation near the ground, in urban areas and around streams, lakes and ponds.
Call description: Their call is a fast 'creeee creee creee cree cree' that can be heard in any month of the year. They call from the ground or low vegetation.
Breeding behaviour: Brown Tree Frogs form large breeding aggregations around water bodies. They deposit their eggs in small clumps attached to submerged vegetation. The tadpoles are nearly transparent with a couple of pigmented bands along the body.
