The Spotted grass Frog or Spotted Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) is a terrestrial frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

 native to Australia. It is distributed throughout all of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, eastern South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, the majority of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 and eastern Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

. It is also naturalised in Western Australia, having been unintentionally introduced at Kununurra

Kununurra, Western Australia

Kununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley Region approximately from the border with the Northern Territory. Kununurra was initiated to service the Ord River Irrigation scheme....

 in the 1970s, apparently during the relocation of several hundred transportable homes from Adelaide.

Physical description

This frog reaches 45 mm in length. Its color ranges from light brown to olive-green, with large, irregular shaped, green or brown spots on its back. Occasionally it will have a thin, pale cream, yellow or bright orange stripe running from snout to vent. There is a raised pale stripe running from below the eye to the base of the arm. The arms and legs are spotted like the back and the belly is white.

Ecology and behaviour

This frog is common throughout Australia and is one of the first species to inhabit new dams and ditches. This species is associated with most habitats, including permanent or temporary dams, roadside ditches, ponds, flooded grassland and slow moving creeks, in urban areas, farmland, woodland, coastal areas and arid areas. The frog is usually found in grass or under other cover, near a still water source.

Breeding

The males calling and the breeding will occur pretty much all year round, finishing during summer. The call of this frog varies from a staccato machine gun sounding burst to a single 'Tok' sound, depending on the call race, which varies geographically. The machine gun call is the northern call race, throughout NSW and QLD. The 'tok' call is the southern call race, which occurs in southern VIC

VIC

- Places :* Vic, a place in Barcelona, Spain* Vič, a quarter in the western part of Ljubljana, Slovenia* Vič, Dravograd, a village in northern Slovenia* Vic-en-Bigorre, a commune in south-western France* Vic-Fezensac, a commune in south-western France...

 and TAS

TAS

- Organizations :* Trent Accreditation Scheme, an internationally-active hospital quality and safety surveying group* Taipei American School, an international school in Taipei, Taiwan* The Armidale School, New South Wales, Australia...

.

The male and female frogs can be sexed by the presence of a flap of skin around the thumbs of the females. This is used to froth the water during amplexus

Amplexus

Amplexus is a form of pseudocopulation in which a male amphibian grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process...

 to create the floating foamy nest that it lays eggs in, which is roughly the size of a human palm. The tadpole

Tadpole

A tadpole or polliwog is the wholly aquatic larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or toad.- Appellation :...

s of this frog are comparatively large (up to 6 cm). This frog spends a minimum of 3 months in tadpole stage.

Similar species

This species is commonly confused with the Long-thumbed Frog

Long-thumbed Frog

The Long-thumbed Frog, Fletcher's Frog or Barking Marsh Frog is a species of ground dwelling frog native to southeastern Australia.-Physical description:...

 (Limnodynastes fletcheri), of which there is a regional overlap. The two frogs can be distinguished by a disproportionately long second digit

Digit (anatomy)

A digit is one of several most distal parts of a limb, such as fingers or toes, present in many vertebrates.- Names:Some languages have different names for hand and foot digits ....

of the inner front toes in the case of Lim. fletcheri. The long-thumbed frog also has larger irregular shaped spots on the back and a red/purple eyelid (this is uncommon in L. tasmaniensis).

As a pet

It is kept as a pet, in Australia this animal may be kept in captivity with the appropriate permit.