STREAM STUDY LITORIA RANIFORMIS-SOUTHERN BELL FROG

BY WILLIAM JOHNSTON

Southern Bell Frog- seen at Cape Palliser on 15

February 2014

Common name of Litoria Raniformis

It has many names

In New Zealand it is called Southern Bell Frog

In Australia, where it comes from, it is called Growling Grass Frog and Warty Swamp Frog

Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Amphibia

Order: Anura

Family: Ranidae

Genus: Litoria

Species: L. Raniformis

Binomial name: Litoria Raniformis

Description

Description Adult size : Length- 10 cm long max , Width -4 cm wide

We measured it using my hand and it is as long as my hand which is 10 centimetres and it was about 4cm wide so it was adult frog

Colour bronze and brown and lots of bumps with blue/green legs

It changes from green to brown during breeding season

Comes from Australia but was introduced to NZ in 1860s

Largest frogs in NZ

I reported my frog sighting to the Department of Conservation

My sighting report to the Department of Conservation

ARDS CARD NEW ZEALAND AMPHIBIAN/REPTILE DISTRIBUTION SCHEMEHerpetofauna Administrator, RD&I, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 10420, Wellington.

Card No:

Observer:

William Johnston Date: 15 February 2014 Locality Name: Cape Palliser, Kawakawa River

Initials Surname Alt (m):

Address:30 Upton Terrace Thorndon

Easting Northing

GPS

Series

Map No.

Easting

Northing

Affiliation: Area Office: Conservancy: Ecol. District:

Species name No. Time

Habitat Weather WeatherLight1. Fine/Sunny2. Part Cloudy3. Overcast4. Showers5. Rain6. Night7. 0-½ Moonlit8. ½-1 Moonlit Temperature9. Hot10. Warm11. Moderate12. Cool13. Cold Wind14. Calm15. Light breeze16. Mod breeze17. Gusty18. Strong winds

Major Habitat Types1. Beech Forest2. Podocarp forest3. Broadleaf forest4. Exotic forest5. Scrub6. Sub-alpine7. Alpine8. Undeveloped tussock land9. Developed farmland10. River terrace11. Fresh water

e.g. Hoplodactylus maculatus 6 18:00

16, D, E 6,2,1

Southern Bell 1300

Voucher specimen(s) Yes/No

Specify:

Photograph(s) Yes/No

Extra notes on reverse side Yes/No

1. Wet land2. Coastal3. Scree4. Bare rocks16. Beach17. Urban18. 19. 20.

Micro habitatsA FoliageB TrunkC BranchesD Under stonesE Under woodF Open groundG CrevicesH

Photos

Food chain

Moths and fly's. Other frogs- they are cannibals.

Insects and insect larvae.Anything moving they can

scavenge.

Southern Bell Frogs

Life cycle/MetamorphosisReproduces at

aged two or three.

Breeding between

November and March.

Male croaks to attract female.

Females lays about 3000

eggs.

Eggs hatch into Tadpoles two to four days later.

Metamorphosis takes about

three months

Habitat

Habitat

Habitat Found throughout New Zealand.

Wet lands

Streams with reeds

Pond weed

Wood lands

Coastal areas

Dams

They shelter under rocks (this is where I found my frog) and it was in a stream with reeds

Adaptive features

They change colour from green to brown in breeding season

They will also move to another area if the water is drying out.

Have been found in very cold and wet areas and very dry areas.

The Southern Bell frog is a very agile climber and they can travel up to a kilometre in 24 hours

It is often seen walking a along the highway in Australia

Threats It is endangered in Australia and has disappeared from many areas where it was once widespread

Disease such as Crytid Fungus

Loss of Habitat due to grazing near streams of other animals and droughts and floods

Predators such as Mosquito Fish

Bibliography

http://www.nzfrogs.org/Resources/Frog+Images/Green+and+Golden+Bell+Frog.htmlhttp://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=1828#threatshttp://naturewatch.org.nz/taxa/southern_bell_froghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growling_grass_frogwww.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=1828http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/natural-sounds/9997/southern-bell-froghttp://naturewatch.org.nz/taxa/southern_bell_froghttp://bird.net.au/bird/index.php?title=Growling_Grassfrog