Arenophryne xiphorhyncha

Conservation Status

Calling Period

Description

A medium-sized species of frog reaching up to 3.5 cm in body length. It has a brown-grey or brown back, with mostly black and some red patches and spots. There is often a thin, cream-coloured longitudinal stripe along the middle of the back. The belly is white, with black patches. The pupil is horizontal and the iris is gold. Fingers and toes are unwebbed, both without discs. The fingers are very wide and short, and are used for digging head first into sand. This is very rare among Australian burrowing frogs, as most burrow backwards so that their legs go under the surface first.

Breeding Biology

Eggs and development are unknown, but are likely to be similar to Arenophryne rotunda, which lays eggs in a small clutch underground in wet sandy burrows and has no true tadpole stage; all development takes place inside the egg before little frogs emerge. Breeding season is unknown, but possibly occurs during winter to spring.

Similar Species

Looks very similar to Arenophryne rotunda, but has a slightly different distribution and a darker-coloured back.