The moaning frog (''Heleioporus eyrei'') is a burrowing frog native to south-western

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Description

The moaning frog is round, with a large head and large, bulbous eyes. The dorsal surface is brown, with marbling of white, grey or yellow, and the ventral surface is white. The arms and legs are relatively small for burrowing frogs. Unlike most frogs of the genus ''Heleioporus'', the male moaning frog lacks nuptial spines on the inner surface of first finger. Males reach a length of 6.6 centimetres (2.6 in) and females reach a length of 6.3 centimetres (2.5 in).

Ecology and behaviour

The moaning frog is native to the coast of south-western Western Australia,

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island (), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a Islands of Perth, Western Australia, island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, ...

and

Bald Island Bald Island is an island that is located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The island is offshore from Cheynes Beach and is a protected area managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife. The island is a World Conserva ...

. It inhabits sandy swamps, where it burrows for protection from predators and desiccation. The males call from under the ground, and

amplexus Amplexus (Latin "embrace") is a type of Mating, mating behavior exhibited by some External fertilization, externally fertilizing species (chiefly amphibians, Amphipoda, amphipods, and horseshoe crabs) in which a male grasps a female with his fro ...

takes place in the burrow. Eighty to five hundred eggs are deposited in a foamy mass at the bottom of a burrow. The eggs undergo development within the foam, and delay from hatching until the burrows are flooded from rain. The tadpoles undergo normal aquatic development.

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2274911 Amphibians of Western Australia Heleioporus Amphibians described in 1845 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Frogs of Australia