The Peppered Tree Frog, (Litoria piperata) is a species of critically endangered tree frog found in northern 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...

, 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...

.

Distribution

This species was formerly known from 5 streams at elevations of 800-1120m draining east in the Northern Tablelands

New England (Australia)

New England or New England North West is the name given to a generally undefined region about 60 kilometres inland, that includes the Northern Tablelands and the North West Slopes regions in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:The region has been occupied by Indigenous...

 of NSW from Gibraltar Range

Gibraltar Range National Park

Gibraltar Range is a national park in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, 79 km north-east of Glen Innes and 493 km north of Sydney...

 in the north to Armidale in the south. Despite searches in these streams and adjacent areas this species has not be located in the wild since the 1970s.

However, in 1999 frogs similar in appearance to this species where discovered in streams north of the known range of this species. The frogs had calls similar to the Pearson's Green Tree Frog

Pearson's Green Tree Frog

The Pearson's Tree Frog, is a species of tree frog that inhabits rainforest creeks in from north of Lismore, New South Wales to Kenilworth, Queensland with a disjunct population at Kroombit Tops Queensland, Australia.-Taxonomy:...

 and genetic testing is required to determine if this population is L. piperata or a disjunct population of L. pearsoniana.

Physical description

This is a small species of frog reaching 30mm in length. It is olive-grey to slate above with many scattered black dots and tubercles across the back, flanks and legs giving the dorsal surface a "peppered" appearance, which in turn gives this species its name. The tympanum is distinct. It has some green colouration on the side of the head. The toes discs are large and toes are webbed. The belly is cream. There is an indistinct dark stripe running from the shoulder, this characteristic is shared with other species in the Leaf Green Tree Frog complex, of which this species is a member. However due to a lack of information on this species, this species has been omitted from the Leaf Green Tree Frog

Leaf Green Tree Frog

The Leaf Green Tree Frog is a species of stream-dwelling frog, native to eastern Australia from the Queensland/New South Wales border south to Sydney.-Physical description:...

 complex key on that page.

Behaviour and ecology

This species is associated with flowing rocky creeks in highland areas of northern New South Wales. The call of this species has not been recorded, however is likely to be similar to other species in the L. phyllochroa complex. Males are likely to call during spring and summer from vegetation and rocks bordering streams and creeks.

This species along with the Yellow-spotted Bell Frog, (Litoria castanea) are two species of frogs in the northern tablelands that suffered severe population declines in the 1980s. The cause for these species is not fully understood, partly because is was too swift to document. Chytrid fungus is believed to have been a big factor.