The Dusky Toadlet is a species of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n ground-dwelling 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...

 that inhabits coastal areas from just north of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, 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...

 to mid-northern 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...

.

Physical description

The Dusky Toadlet reaches 30mm in length. It can be dark brown or grey brown with lighter brown variegations or uniform dark brown on the dorsal surface, which is slightly rough and warty. There is normally a pale triangle shape on the head, starting from the eyes. There is a pale yellow patch in the armpit. It has moderate sized parotoid glands. The ventral surface is white with a fair amount of dark blue/black speckling. There is an orange patch in the thighs. The flanks of this species is normally bluish in colour, giving it a dusky appearance. This species is very similar to the Smooth Toadlet

Smooth Toadlet

The Smooth Toadlet is a species of Australian ground-dwelling frog native to the coast and west of the ranges of south-east Queensland, all of eastern New South Wales and north-eastern Victoria.-Physical description:...

, (Uperoleia laevigata) and differences between the two are discussed on that page.

Ecology and behaviour

This species inhabits coastal forest, bushland, heathland and wet or dry sclerophyll forest. Frogs call during spring and summer, normally from dams, swamps, roadside ditches or flooded grassland areas. The call of this species is similar to other Uperoleia species, as it is a "arrk" noise. Males call from the bases of grass clumps close to the waters edge.