Animal Fact Sheets
Green Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)

The Green Tree Frog is one of Australia’s largest and best known frogs.

It has golden eyes with a horizontal black pupil that spans the eye ball. Their colour can vary from a bright green to an olive brown on the back with a creamy white belly. The colour can change to match the colour of its surrounds giving this frog excellent camouflage. The Green Tree Frog has large flat finger and toe discs that help it to grip when living in trees and climbing. It often hangs on the underside of leaves trying to stay safe from predators. The feet are more webbed than the hands.

Breeding and Lifecycle
Breeding occurs in the spring and summer – from November to February. The female will lay up to 2000 eggs in clumps in water which the male will fertilise as they appear. Development from egg to frog takes about six weeks.

The male Green Tree Frog will call to the females during the breeding season with a loud deep “wronk, wronk, wronk” call. They will often call from hollows in trees and drain pipes making the calls sound even louder.

Habitat and Distribution
The Green Tree Frog is found in habitats ranging from the coast to dry inland. It has a very big distribution, ranging across the northern parts of Australia in many different habitats. It has adapted well to human settlement and often shares drains, gutter and even toilets around our homes. It prefers to live close to water sources often found around streams and swamps.

Diet
As it is one of the largest species of frog in Australia adults will often eat quite large food items. Green Tree Frogs can feed on insects, spiders, smaller frogs, small birds and even small mammals like mice and bats. It catches its food with its strong jaws and often will use a hand to force the food down. When the frog swallows food the eye balls pull in under the skin to help push the food down the throat.

Threats to Survival
The Green Tree Frog is not endangered at the moment but faces an uncertain future due to habitat loss and pollution. The preferred habitat around streams and swamps is being cleared for housing and farming. Another factor affecting the frog is a fungal disease that affects the frog skin that over time kills the frog. The fungus is called Chytrid Fungus and scientists are working hard to try and understand more about this disease. More information about the amphibian extinction crisis can be found here.

Water pollution is also an issue because the eggs and tadpoles will only survive in good quality water. This is why we need to work hard to ensure only rainwater goes down the drain as this water goes to local creeks.

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