The Northern Barred Frog (Mixophyes schevilli) is a large, 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...

 native to tropical

Tropics

The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately  N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at  S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...

 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...

, 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...

.

Physical description

The Northern Barred Frog is a large frog, reaching a maximum length of 10 centimetres. It has powerful legs and arms, with a large head and large eyes. It has a brown or copper dorsal surface with irregular, darker blotches along the middle of its back. A dark line runs from the snout, through the eye, and over the tympanum to the top of the shoulder. Like all frogs of the genus Mixophyes, the Northern Barred Frog has bars running across its legs. The toes are fully webbed, the fingers are unwebbed, and the tympanum is visible.

Ecology and behaviour

The Northern Barred Frog inhabits dense tropical rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

, close to fast-flowing streams. It usually hides and hunts in leaf litter. Like Mixophyes iteratus and Mixophyes fasciolatus, this species lays its eggs on the banks of streams. Rain then washes them into the stream where the tadpoles hatch. 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 are very large, reaching a length of 12.5 centimetres. The male will call high from the bank, with a deep "wahk" noise.