Photo: Boyd Essex
Scientific name: Crinia tinnula
Status
- Queensland: Vulnerable (NCA 1992)
What does it look like?
The wallum froglet is a small ground-dwelling frog (less than 20mm in length) with a pointed snout. Its coarse skin is off-white with (dark) grey in colour with a narrow pale stripe running down the middle of the throat and, in some specimen, the belly. The fingers and toes are not webbed and do not have discs or pads. Tadpoles are grey or brown with darker markings and do not exceed more than 37mm in length.
Where are they found?
The preferred habitat of the wallum froglet is largely coastal environment associated with wet heath, sedgeland, woodland on nutrient-poor sandy soils and acid paperbark (melaleuca) swamps. Distribution of the wallum froglet is restricted to coastal areas of southern QLD and northern NSW – specifically Fraser, Bribie, Moreton and North Stradbroke Islands – as well as adjacent mainland areas.
What do they eat?
Adult wallum froglets feed on small insects and invertebrates while tadpoles feed on algae, sediment and detritus.
What is threatening them?
- Changing fire regimes
- Predatory fish
- Human development
- Alteration in water quality or pH
- Changes in inundation.
Conservation
The wallum froglet is protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. It is an offence to hurt or interfere with the wallum froglet in any other way than when accepted by the Act.
Redland City Council manages environmental pests throughout the Redlands to minimise their impact on native ecosystems and animals such as the wallum froglet.
Did you know...?
Wallum froglets are considered habitat specialists due to their ability to breed in low-acidity environment.
Report your sighting
If you have seen or suspect you have seen a wallum froglet, please report it to Atlas of Living Australia.