Uperoleia talpa

Conservation Status

Calling Period

Description

A medium-sized species of frog reaching up to 4.5 cm in body length. It has a bronze-brown back, with orange and/or darker spots and sometimes an orange longitudinal stripe along the middle. The upper and lower lip are often white. The belly is white, and the male has a grey throat with a grey line extending past each arm. The under-surfaces of the arms and legs are purple-pink. The pupil is nearly round, and the iris is gold or bronze. Fingers are unwebbed and toes are half-webbed, both without discs. The parotoid glands are very large and the same colour as the back.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid singly on vegetation under the surface of the water in flooded grassland ditches and temporary ponds. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to 4.5 cm, and are grey or brown, with darker mottling. They often remain at the bottom of water bodies. It is unknown how long they take to develop into frogs. Breeds during summer and possibly autumn in the wet season.

Similar Species

Looks very similar to Uperoleia saxatilis, Uperoleia micromeles, Uperoleia mjobergii, Uperoleia aspera, and Uperoleia glandulosa in its distribution, but is generally larger than all of these species, while Uperoleia micromeles also has more widely spaced nostrils.