The Smooth 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...

 native to the coast and west of the ranges of south-east 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...

, all of eastern 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 north-eastern 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....

.

Physical description

The Smooth Toadlet reaches 35mm in length. It is grey-brown to olive-brown above often with darker spots and blotches. There is normally a pale triangular patch on the head in front of the eyes and a pale yellow patch in the armpit. It has prominent parotoid glands. Its belly is white and there is a red patch in the thighs.

Ecology and behaviour

This frog is associated with dry forest, sclerophyll forest and cleared grassland/farmland along the coast, slopes and ranges. Males make a drawn out "arrrrk" call from around the breeding site, this can be anything from a large permanent dam to a flooded ditch or grassland. Calling males can be right at the waters edge to up to 20 metres away. Calling occurs from spring to autumn. After heavy rain many of these frogs may breed in one or two weeks, when in drier times the breeding site may appear absent of this species.

Similar species

This species is very similar to two other Uperoleia species, the Dusky Toadlet

Dusky Toadlet

The Dusky Toadlet is a species of Australian ground-dwelling frog that inhabits coastal areas from just north of Sydney, New South Wales to mid-northern Queensland.-Physical description:The Dusky Toadlet reaches 30mm in length...

, (Uperoleia fusca) and the Tyler's Toadlet

Tyler's Toadlet

Tyler's Toadlet is a species of ground frog that is found in coastal areas in southern New South Wales and eastern Victoria.-Physical description:...

, (Uperoleia tyleri). There are however some ways to tell them apart.

The Smooth Toadlet has a white belly, occasionally with a few spots of black, while the Dusky Toadlets belly is white with many dark spots and flecks, almost covering the entire ventral surface, the Tyler's Toadlet has a fully pigmented underbelly of dark blue/black colour. Male smooth toadlets may have a dark throat, however the belly will still be white. In all three of these species there is a red/orange/yellow patch in the thigh, back of legs and behind the knee. In the Smooth Toadlet this patch is quite large and is almost always red, it can however be orange but is not yellow. In the Dusky Toadlet this colour patch is more reduced and is almost always orange, but can be red and occasionally yellow. In the Tyler's Toadlet this patch is rarely anything other than yellow.

Each of these species has a different but similar call the Dusky Toadlet has a short "arrk", the Smooth Toadlet has a slightly longer and deeper "arrrk", while the Tyler's Toadlet has the deepest and most elongated "arrrrk".

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...

is the collision point of the 3 species, however around Sydney there is only Smooth Toadlets, just north of Sydney there are Dusky Toadlet and just south of Sydney there are Tyler's Toadlets, the Smooth Toadlet occurs throughout much of the Tyler's Toadlet and Dusky Toadlets range.