Spencer's Burrowing Frog
Encyclopedia
Spencer's Burrowing Frog (Opisthodon spenceri, formerly Limnodynastes spenceri) is a species
of frog
native to western and central Australia
.
genus, the Ornate Burrowing Frog
(Opisthodon ornatus). It only differs in the presence of webbing in the toes of Spencer's Burrowing Frog, where it is absent in the Ornate Burrowing Frog, and a tendency towards more intense, brown, dorsal colouration.
Spencer's Burrowing Frog is a short, rotund frog with a small head and large eyes. The colour and patterns of the dorsal surface vary greatly. The colour ranges from a dark brown to light grey, with darker blotches. A butterfly shaped, darker patch is often found behind the eyes. The legs and arms are striped or spotted, the tympanum is not visible, and the feet range from partially to fully webbed.
frog native to the desert
s of western and central Australia. During dry periods, the frog burrows underground to avoid desiccation
. After a period of heavy rain, they emerge from the ground to feed and mate, laying their eggs in temporary pools of water. To prevent the ponds from drying before the tadpole
s have morphed
, development of the tadpole may only take 40 days.
Spencer's Burrowing Frog inhabits sandy creeks and rivers. The males will call near a water source, where the call is a rapidly repeated "hoh-hoh-hoh". Eggs
are laid in foam, which breaks down in a day to release the eggs into a layer on the top of the water.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of 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 western and central 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
Spencer's Burrowing Frog is very similar in appearance to the only other species within the OpisthodonOpisthodon
Opisthodon is a small genus of Limnodynastine frogs with only two species. Until a major revision in 2006 these two species were classified in the genus Limnodynastes but were removed to this resurrected genus to render monophyletic genera ....
genus, the Ornate Burrowing Frog
Ornate Burrowing Frog
The Ornate Burrowing Frog formerly is a species of ground frog native to Australia. It was moved to the genus Opisthodon in 2006 following a major revision of amphibians .-Physical description:...
(Opisthodon ornatus). It only differs in the presence of webbing in the toes of Spencer's Burrowing Frog, where it is absent in the Ornate Burrowing Frog, and a tendency towards more intense, brown, dorsal colouration.
Spencer's Burrowing Frog is a short, rotund frog with a small head and large eyes. The colour and patterns of the dorsal surface vary greatly. The colour ranges from a dark brown to light grey, with darker blotches. A butterfly shaped, darker patch is often found behind the eyes. The legs and arms are striped or spotted, the tympanum is not visible, and the feet range from partially to fully webbed.
Ecology and behaviour
Spencer's Burrowing Frog is a fossorialFossorial
A fossorial organism is one that is adapted to digging and life underground such as the badger, the naked mole rat, and the mole salamanders Ambystomatidae...
frog native to the desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s of western and central Australia. During dry periods, the frog burrows underground to avoid desiccation
Desiccation
Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container.-Science:...
. After a period of heavy rain, they emerge from the ground to feed and mate, laying their eggs in temporary pools of water. To prevent the ponds from drying before 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 have morphed
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
, development of the tadpole may only take 40 days.
Spencer's Burrowing Frog inhabits sandy creeks and rivers. The males will call near a water source, where the call is a rapidly repeated "hoh-hoh-hoh". Eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
are laid in foam, which breaks down in a day to release the eggs into a layer on the top of the water.