Species:
Platyplectrum ornatum
Ornate Burrowing Frog
Some other names for this species:
Ornate Frog, Ornate Ground Frog
Notes on this species:
This species was known as Limnodynastes ornatus until fairly recently. It also was briefly known as Opisthodon ornatus.
November 12, 2009
Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, Northern Territory, Australia
This was the weirdest-looking (and thus our favorite) frog of the various types we saw hopping on and near Fogg Dam on a drizzly night. It looked like a small toad, and also very much like a small rock when it put its head down.
These frogs spend most of their time underground, and are usually only seen on the surface during or just after rainfall, which matches our experience.
I’ve written up an account of this three-week trip to Australia here.
