Frogs of Australia

Regional guides

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Key guide to Victorian frogs

The Frogs of Victoria project is retained only for the great key guide. Work through a series of questions until, finally, your frog is identified.

Key guide

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Paracrinia haswelli

Red-groined Froglet

Also: Haswell's Frog, Haswell's Froglet

+ 72 kb Red-groined Froglet (Paracrinia haswelli)

A small ground-dwelling species, previously placed in the genus Crinia. Most often found near water this species extends along the coast from Sydney to the Mornington Peninsula.

Distribution and habitat

Distribution map for Paracrinia haswelli

Adults can be found in both wet and dry forests, woodlands, shrublands and coastal heath but are invariably associated with water. Both eggs and tadpoles can be found in still water ranging from coastal swamps to dams, swamps and ponds.

There is a detailed distribution map available for: Victoria.

Calling

Males call from concealed locations in either leaf litter or terrestrial or aquatic vegetation. The call is a very short, explosive note repeated at intervals of about ten seconds - "aak" or "ank". Often sounds like ducks quacking in the distance.

Life cycle

Distinguishing characteristics

Red-groined Froglet (Paracrina haswelli) Copyright Wildlife Profiles. Photograph by Peter Robertson.

+ 45 kb Red-groined Froglet (Paracrina haswelli)

Adult length: 25-32mm.
Eggs are pigmented and the tadpoles are light olive green with clear, very deep fins. Adults have smooth bellies, a fine mid-dorsal stripe, and bright red patches in the groin and on the hind-side of the thighs.

Visible features

Presented here is the information stored in the frogs.org.au database which is used to identify frogs based on their appearance. It is intended to be used in a key guide for separating species so some of the information (for example, back colours) may be rather non-specific. The system is currently being developed - if you notice errors in the data, please write to Dave Black at the address at the bottom of the page.

Important note: This information details only the appearance of the frog. If an "or" appears in the description, this may mean either that there is some variation within the species or that the feature might be observed differently by different people. For example, if a frog has very small toe pads, it may be listed as having "Toe pads: present or absent".