Family: Hylidae - Tree Frogs
Order: Anura - Frogs
Class: Amphibia
Phylum: Chordata - Vertebrates
Kingdom: Animalia
Red List status: Least Concern
Along coastal and near-coastal areas of eastern Australia, from Cairns in north Queensland to southern New South Wales and Fraser Island. The species occurs over a range of around 300,000 km2.
Adult:
A small, elongated, robust tree frog that is typically green but may be
brown or olive; the legs may be fawn, regardless of ground colour.
Occasionally darker spots may be scattered on the
dorsum.
The ventral surface is
white, a
nd
the groin and backs of the thighs are orange. A bronze stripe is
present running from the nostril to the eye, and there is typically a wider
brown stripe from the prominent, brown
tympanum to the base of
the forearm. A thick white band runs from the forearm along the upper lip.
The fingers are nearly unwebbed; toes are half to three-quarters webbed,
with distinct discs.
Webbing on the feet reaches the base of the first toe. The belly skin
is granular; that above is smooth.
Vomerine teeth are
present, maxillary
teeth absent.
Eggs: Light brown in colour, laid in small clumps attached to vegetation at the water surface.
Call: A rather mechanical 'wreek", sounding something like clockwork being wound, followed by a series of one or two ratchet-like "pip"s. The call is often continuous, and may be heard both day and night.
Similar
species: Very similar to the northern dwarf treefrog (L. bicolor),
which possesses a bronze
mid-dorsal stripe, absent in L. fallax. L. bicolor is
slightly larger, with a narrower head, often darker or brown green above,
and the webbing on the feet does not reach the base of the first toe. The
call of L. bicolor sounds somewhat insect-like, is faster and less
mechanical than that of L. fallax. Most similarly-sized green frogs
in the eastern dwarf treefrog's range lack a white
labial stripe. The
Cooloola tree frog (L. cooloolensis) has a densely-spotted dorsum and
the back of the thigh is not orange. The Olongburra tree frog (L.
olongurensis) has brown speckling on its
throat; the throat of L. fallax is unspeckled.
This is an opportunistic species of standing water, often associated with dams, suburban garden ponds and introduced waterside vegetation. It occurs in habitats from agricultural land to swamps, lagoons, small creeks and open woodland.
Arboreal in short waterside vegetation, often rushes (Typha sp.). Animals often select shelter sites some distance from water, in the leaf axils of pandanus, banana and other plants.
Breeding season: This species may be heard calling almost throughout the year in the tropical portion of its range; elsewhere it is mostly active from October to April.
Wildlife of Tropical Queensland, The Queensland Museum 2000
Cogger, H. G. (2000) Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia, 6th Edition. Ralph Curtis Publishing: 808 pp
Hero, J-M., Meyer, M. and Clarke, J. (2004). Litoria fallax. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Robinson, M. (1993) A Field Guide to Frogs of Australia, Reed New Holland
