Red-crowned Toadlet - profile

Scientific name: Pseudophryne australis 
 Conservation status in NSW: Vulnerable

Description

The Red-crowned Toadlet is an unmistakable small frog, usually measuring less than 30 mm long. It is dark brown to black, with distinctive reddish-orange patches, one between the eyes and one along the rump. It also has a white patch at the base of each arm. The belly is marbled black and white. The tadpoles are black and reach about 25 mm. The short, grating and "squelchy" call can be heard all year round.

Location and habitat

Distribution
 The Red-crowned Toadlet has a restricted distribution. It is confined to the Sydney Basin, from Pokolbin in the north, the Nowra area to the south, and west to Mt Victoria in the Blue Mountains.

• Occurs in open forests, mostly on Hawkesbury and Narrabeen Sandstones.
• Inhabits periodically wet drainage lines below sandstone ridges that often have shale lenses or cappings.
• Shelters under rocks and amongst masses of dense vegetation or thick piles of leaf litter.
• Breeding congregations occur in dense vegetation and debris beside ephemeral creeks and gutters.
• Eggs are laid in moist leaf litter, from where they are washed by heavy rain; a large proportion of the development of the tadpoles takes place in the egg.
• Disperses outside the breeding period, when they are found under rocks and logs on sandstone ridges and forage amongst leaf-litter.

Regional information
This species is found in the following catchment management authority regions. Click on a region name to see more details about the distribution, vegetation types and habitat preference of the species in that region.

• Hawkesbury/Nepean
• Hunter/Central Rivers
• Southern Rivers
• Sydney Metro

Threats

• Reduction in water quality flowing from ridges, particularly in urban areas.
• Clearing of habitat, particularly along ridges.
• High frequency fire, resulting in changing vegetation structure and composition.
• Collection of bush rock.
• Disease (chytrid fungus).

Recovery strategies

Priority actions are the specific, practical things that must be done to recover a threatened species, population or ecological community. The Department of Environment and Conservation has identified 14 priority actions to help recover the Red-crowned Toadlet in New South Wales.

What needs to be done to recover this species?

• Apply mosaic pattern hazard reduction techniques.
• Do not remove sandstone rock from bushland in escarpment areas.
• Retain and protect habitat and buffers around habitat, particularly vegetation on upper slopes and ridges.
• Protect water quality and maintain natural water flows in drainage lines below developed ridges.

References

• Barker J., Grigg G. and Tyler M.J. (1995). A Field Guide to Australian frogs. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Sydney.
• Cogger, H. G. (2000). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. 6th ed. Reed New Holland, Sydney.
• Ehmann H. (ed.) (1997). Threatened Frogs of NSW: Habitat, status and conservation. Frog and Tadpole Study.
• NSW Scientific Committee (2002) Red-crowned toadlet - Vulnerable species determination - final. DEC (NSW), Sydney.