The Sunset Frog is a species of ground-dwelling frog native to south-west Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, 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...

. It is the only species in the genus Spicospina. It is known from only 27 sites, all occurring east and northeast of Walpole

Walpole, Western Australia

Walpole is a town in Western Australia, 432 km SSE of Perth and 66 km west of Denmark.Walpole lies very close to the northern point of the 100-hectare Walpole Inlet, from which it takes its name....

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Description

Spicospina flammocaerulea is a smaller species, with a snout-vent length of 31-36 in the females and males growing to 29.5-34.8 mm. The physical appearance and colouration differs greatly from all other Australian frog species. It is a dark-purple to black or very dark grey on the dorsal surface. There are orange markings below the vent, around the margins of the body and on the hands and feet. The throat, chest and the underside of the hands and feet are also orange. The back is granular with lots of raised glands, a large parotoid gland

Parotoid gland

The parotoid gland is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It secretes a milky alkaloid substance to deter predators...

 is located behind each eye. The belly has vivid light blue spotting on a dark background which is smooth. The fingers and toes are free from webbing and pads.

Ecology and behaviour

The Sunset Frog is only found in isolated permanently moist peat swamps, in high rainfall areas. These sites have high moisture content and are often protected from drier conditions by seepages that provide water even through the drier seasons (Spring and Summer). Males call between October and December from shallow pools, water seepages or in open water along creek margins. They make a rapidly repeated "dd-duk-duk". Females lay less than 200 eggs that are deposited singly often supported by algae mats just below the surface of the water.