About Litoria nasuta (Gray, 1842)
This frog species, Litoria nasuta, is highly variable in color and patterning. It grows up to 55 mm in length, with extremely long legs and a very streamlined body. Its dorsal surface is brown, featuring longitudinal skin folds or warts that are darker than the surrounding skin. The ventral surface is white and granular. A brown stripe runs from the nostril, across the eye, through the tympanum, and ends between the armpit and groin. The tympanum is brown, surrounded by a white circle. The thighs have black markings on a yellow background, and the throats of breeding males are yellow. Though classified as a tree frog, adult Litoria nasuta spend most of their lives on land, because their small toe discs prevent them from climbing. Commonly called the striped rocket frog, or simply the rocket frog within its native range, this species is found mainly in coastal areas from northern Western Australia to Gosford in New South Wales, with an isolated population located further south in the Sydney suburb of Avalon. It also occurs in the southern lowlands and southeast peninsula of Papua New Guinea. It inhabits swamps, ponds, and flooded grasslands in forests and open woodland, and is a ground-dwelling frog in tropical forests. It is known to disperse widely during the wet season. Striped rocket frogs breed in standing water during the wet season, which runs from December to March. Females lay between 50 and 100 eggs per clutch. The tadpoles are mottled brown and reach around 6 cm in length, and can complete metamorphosis from the larval stage to adulthood in about one month. During the breeding season, males produce a distinctive repeated "wick wick" call to attract mates, followed by a "but... but" section; the full call may last several seconds. The call is produced when the large vocal sac near the throat expands, pushing outward like a balloon. Males call from spring through early autumn while perched on the banks of water bodies or sitting in shallow water, and breeding activity increases after rain. This species can leap 2 meters (6.5 feet), which is roughly 36 times its own body length. For comparison, this is equivalent to a 1.8-meter (6-foot) human making a 64.8-meter (213-foot) jump.
