Pouched Frog

Scientific name: Assa darlingtoni

Author(s)

FrogID Team
Updated

21/04/22
Read time

2 minutes

Pouched Frog, Assa darlingtoni Image: Stephen Mahony
© Stephen Mahony

Fast Facts

IUCN Conservation Status

LEAST CONCERN (LC)
Classification

Genus

Assa

Species

darlingtoni

Family

Myobatrachidae

Order

Anura

Subclass

Lissamphibia

Class

Amphibia

Subphylum

Vertebrata

Phylum

Chordata

Kingdom

Animalia
Size Range

2 cm

Description

A small species of frog reaching up to 2 cm in body length. It has a brown or dark brown back, with darker patches. There is often a V-shaped marking between the eyes. There is a black stripe from behind the eye to the groin. The belly is cream-coloured, with brown mottling. The pupil is horizontal and the iris is gold. Fingers and toes are unwebbed, both without discs. The male has a pouch on both sides of its body, into which the tadpoles wriggle before developing and then emerging as tiny, fully formed frogs.

Similar Species

Looks similar to Crinia parinsignifera, Crinia signifera, Crinia tinnula, Philoria loveridgei, Philoria richmondensis and Philoria sphagnicolus in its distribution, but the Philoria species have thicker arms and different back patterns, and the Crinia species have a rougher belly texture.

Distribution

Found in northern NSW and southeast QLD in the ranges.

Breeding Biology

Eggs are laid on land under wet leaf litter and rocks. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to nearly 1.5 cm and are white in colour. After hatching from their eggs, they wriggle into pouches on the sides of the male frog and complete their development inside before little frogs emerge, a process that takes two to three months. Breeds during spring to autumn.