To listen to this article, please select Control + Shift + Z to launch the pop-up player.

A-Z Animals - Animal Facts, Images and Resources

Animals >>

Burrowing Frog

Add to Phobia Filter

Contribute

Listen

The burrowing frog is a large sized species of frog that is natively found in Australia. Burrowing frogs are most commonly found in their burrows in river banks and close to marshes, streams and lakes.

There are six different species of burrowing frog in Australia which vary in size from around 6cm to 10cm long. Only one of the six species of burrowing frog is found in south-eastern Australia, as the other five burrowing frog species are all found in western Australia.

The burrowing frog has a very distinctive appearance and is easily identified by its large, bulging eyes, short body and long legs and toes. Unlike many other species of frog, the toes of the burrowing frog are not webbed as webbing would make digging much more difficult.

As with all amphibians, burrowing frogs are semi-aquatic and are always found close to large bodies of water. Burrowing frogs hide in the banks close to the water where they can remain unseen by predators and undetected from potential prey.

The burrowing frog is a carnivorous animal that uses it long, sticky tongue in order to catch food. When the burrowing frog spots a meal, it remains very still watching it closely with its large eyes before shooting its tongue out of its mouth at remarkable speed to catch its prey before pulling its back in. Burrowing frogs primarily hunt invertebrates such as insects, spiders and worms.

Due to their relatively small size, the burrowing frog has numerous natural predators within its natural environment. Foxes, cats, dogs, birds, snakes and lizards are among the most common predators of the burrowing frog.

After mating, the female burrowing frog can lay up to 1,000 eggs in a foamy mass in her burrow in the river bank, where the eggs develop until they hatch. Burrowing frog tadpoles hatch after water has flooded the burrow, the aquatic tadpoles to leave the burrow into the water.

Post Comment

Burrowing Frog Translations

	Català Heleioporus
	English Burrowing Frog

	Français Heleioporus
	Nederlands Heleioporus

Article Tools

	Print Article View printer friendly version of Burrowing Frog article.
	Listen to Article Listen to audio version of Burrowing Frog article. Hot key: + +

Burrowing Frog Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Amphibia
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Anura
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Myobatrachidae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Heleioporus

Scientific Name:	Heleioporus
Type:	Amphibian
Diet:	Carnivore
Size (L):	6cm - 10cm (2.4in - 4in)
Weight:	20g - 80g (0.7oz - 2.8oz)
Top Speed:	8km/h (5mph)
Life Span:	10 - 15 years
Lifestyle:	Solitary
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Least Concern

Colour:	Black, Green, Grey, Brown, Yellow
Skin Type:	Permeable
Favourite Food:	Insects
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Forests, rivers and marshes
Average Clutch Size:	200
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Insects, Worms, Spiders
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Foxes, Snakes, Birds
Distinctive Features:	Long limbs and rough, bumpy skin

Related Animals

	African Clawed Frog Also known as the Platanna!
	Bullfrog Has loud cow-like calls!
	Frog There are around 5,000 different species!
	Poison Dart Frog Inhabits the jungles of Central and South America!
	Tree Frog Found in warmer jungles and forests!
	Common Frog Found throughout the European continent!