Striped Marsh Frog B G Thomson/www.auswildlife.com

Striped Marsh Frog

Did You Know?

  • Very adaptable and appears to be quite tolerant of polluted water
  • Females usually lay between 700 and 1000 eggs each year
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The striped marsh frog or brown-striped frog is a common species in urban habitats It is a mostly aquatic frog native to coastal Eastern Australia.

A pale to grey-brown back with darker brown stripes. Usually also a pale stripe running down the middle of its back. Its belly is white and often flecked with brown, and there are dark spots and stripes on its limbs.

Size

4.5 - 7.5 cm

Distinctive features

  • A two-coloured iris that is golden brown above and dark brown below.
  • Its skin is smooth and its long, slender fingers and toes have no webbing.
  • Its eggs are found within a foam raft that resembles beaten egg whites with pepper!

Behaviour

Call

Males call while in or near water. Their call is a single, short “tuk” or “whuck” which is repeated every few seconds. It has been described as a popping sound, like a tennis ball being whacked, or a hammer striking an anvil.

Listen to the Striped Marsh Frog call © Nature Sounds/David Stewart

Diet

Almost any animal smaller than itself, including moths, flies, ground-dwelling insects and other frogs.

Movement

Hides under logs, stones and leaf litter during the day, and is usually not far from permanent water.

Breeding

Occurs in permanent water more commonly in the warmer months. Males begin to call on land and then move into the water from where they usually call at night. Females lay their eggs in a floating foam of bubbles (often attached to vegetation) in the still waters of swamps, marshes, dams and ponds. The tadpoles hatch after a few days.

Field Guide

Improve your identification skills. Download your Striped Marsh Frog field guide here!

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What to Observe

  • Calling

  • Courting/Mating

  • The appearance of eggs

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When and Where

When To Look

  • From August through to April (main breeding season)
  • Eggs are usually laid from September through to April
  • Listen for males calling at night

Where To Look

Eastern Australia:

  • It is found along the east coast from northern Queensland to South Australia, including northern Tasmania
  • Rainforests, forests, woodlands, shrub-lands and urban areas, where it visits slow-moving streams, marshes, dams, ponds, swamps and wetlands
  • It is very common in small backyard ponds; During the day it hides under logs, stones, leaf litter and debris
  • Look among reeds, debris and under fallen logs around wetlands and other permanent water, including urban ponds
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What Else?

Similar Species

Spotted Marsh Frog has spots rather than stripes on its back.

Barking Marsh Frog also has spots rather than stripes on its back.

Salmon-Striped Frog has pink-to-orange stripes and lacks the two-coloured iris.