Bumpy rocket frog

The bumpy rocket frog or Peter's frog (Litoria inermis) is a frog from Australia.[2][4] It lives all across the northern and eastern parts of Australia, in Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia.[5][1]

Bumpy rocket frog
Litoria inermis01.jpg
Conservation status
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Pelodryadidae
Genus: Litoria
Species:
L. inermis
Binomial name
Litoria inermis
(Peters, 1867)[2]
Litoria inermis map-fr.svg
Synonyms[3]
  • Chiroleptes inermis (Peters, 1867)
  • Cyclorana inermis (Parker, 1940)
  • Hyla inermis (Straughan, 1969)
  • Litoria inermis (Tyler, 1971)

An adult frog is 3.5 cm long from nose to rear end. It is light and dark brown with some yellow marks on its legs and a white spot near its jaws. Its front feet have no webbing and its back feet have some webbing. Its skin is bumpy.[2]

The scientists who first wrote about this frog in the 1800s thought it was a burrowing frog, meaning a frog that likes to dig into the ground and spend time underground, but it is not. Its scientific name, "inermis", means "does not have a weapon". Most burrowing frogs have sharp bones in their feet, but the bumpy rocket frog does not. Burrowing frogs use these bones to dig.[2]

This frog lives in flood plains, forests, grasslands, swamps and streams, but it can live in rocky places if there are streams through them.[2][5]

Females lay their eggs 100-300 at a time in temporary bodies of water with no plants in them. The tadpoles can grow to 4 cm.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Jean-Marc Hero; Paul Horner; Dale Roberts; Richard Retallick (2004). "Litoria inermis". 2004. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T41094A10388354. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T41094A10388354.en. Retrieved June 22, 2020. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Bumpy Rocket Frog: Litoria inermis (Peters 1867)". Western Australia Museum. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  3. "Litoria inermis (Peters, 1867)". Amphibian Species of the World 6.0, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  4. "Litoria inermis". James Cook University. 19 October 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. 5.0 5.1 J-M Hero (April 5, 2002). "Litoria inermis: Peter's Frog". Amphibiaweb. Retrieved June 22, 2020.