Fun Tusked Frog Facts For Kids

The tusked frog (Adelotus brevis) is an amphibian native to Australia. These nocturnal frogs inhabit flooded grasslands, coastal areas, dams, ditches, puddles, and other dense vegetation areas. The Australian tusked frog gets its name from the two unusually large teeth present on the lower jaw of the male. These frog species are tan, olive green, or dark brown in color with marbled skin on the underparts. Its hind legs bear webbed feet. Males have a larger head than females.

The tusked frog diet includes different kinds of invertebrates including snails and small insects. The females lay clusters of unpigmented eggs, about 140-630, which are hidden from the light in a foam nest. The tadpoles grow within two to three months and undergo metamorphosis till they attain the adult stage. The IUCN Red List has listed these frogs as a Near Threatened species due to several factors like climate change and habitat loss. Keep on reading to learn more intriguing facts on the tusked frog.

If you liked reading this article, then do check out the leopard frog and the dyeing dart frog, here on Kidadl.

What type of animal is a tusked frog?

It is an amphibian belonging to the Limnodynastidae family.

What class of animal does a tusked frog belong to?

The tusked frog, scientific name- Adelotus brevis, belongs to the class Amphibia, just like the poison dart frog and the bullfrog.

How many tusked frogs are there in the world?

Although the exact number of tusked frogs present in the world is unknown, the Threatened Species Conservation Act and the IUCN Red List have listed this frog as a Near Threatened species due to their very low population, which is declining day by day.

Where does a tusked frog live?

It is native to Australia. Their distribution ranges from Queensland to north of the New South Wales. A very low number of these frog species are found in southern Queensland.

What is a tusked frog's habitat?

The tusked frog's habitat includes wet grasslands, swampy areas, dams, ditches, puddles, and coastal areas. They reside in water-logged regions with dense vegetation. These frogs are also spotted in the wet sclerophyll forest and rainforests along with woodlands. They lay clusters of eggs in ponds.

Who do tusked frogs live with?

These frogs are known to be solitary or they live in pairs during their breeding season.

How long does a tusked frog live?

The lifespan of the tusked frog is not known.

How do they reproduce?

The endangered tusked frog reproduces by sexual reproduction. Their breeding season is during spring, in the months of October to March. These species of the north have a unique method of nesting. The females use the flanges that are present on their limbs to create a foam nest on the surface of the pond water. This floating foam nest is created by trapping air bubbles on the surface of ponds. The females lay about 140-630 eggs that are trapped in these foam nests. The egg mass laid is unpigmented and the tadpoles emerge out black in color with a total length of about 1.37 in (3.5 cm). These tadpoles remain at the bottom of the ponds and undergo metamorphosis until they become adult frogs. The males become territorial in nature during their breeding season and are also spotted engaging in fights with other males, with the help of their tusks. Sexual dimorphism is seen in these frogs, where the males are larger than the females with red patches on the snout.

What is their conservation status? 

The IUCN Red List has listed the Adelotus brevis, tusked frog, as a Near Threatened species. The Threatened Species Conservation Act has also listed these frogs as Vulnerable. This is mainly because of habitat loss and climate change. The tusked frog adaptation is unable to cope up with deforestation and cattle grazing. Their population is also known to be largely affected by the Chytridiomycosis caused by the Chytrid fungi, which spread rapidly among the amphibians and are highly infectious. They are also predated by the Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) and are also affected by the weed species that spread in their natural vegetation.

What do tusked frogs look like?

You can identify a tusked frog of Australia by a dark brown, tan, or olive green body with black and white patches on its belly region. Other adaptations include red patches are present all over the groin and hind legs. These species have two large teeth that resemble tusks, found on their lower jaw, and are slightly curved with pointed tips. This medium-sized frog species bear butterfly-shaped markings between their eyes, which possess a golden brown iris and horizontal pupils. Their population shows sexual dimorphism. The head of the males is slightly larger than the females.

How cute are they?

Just like the Goliath frog, the tusked frog is not cute at all. It has slimy moist dark brown skin, which gives it a gruesome appearance. Furthermore, their curved and pointed tusks make them look even more hideous.

How do they communicate?

The males produce a slower soft-pitched voice, with a characteristic cluck-cluck call, that is mostly audible during their breeding season.

How big is a tusked frog?

The tusked frog is about 1.6-2.0 in (4-5 cm) in length, with the males being larger than the females. They are slightly smaller in size than the Australian marbled frog.

How fast can a tusked frog move?

Not much data is available on the speed of the tusked frog. However, they are known to jump quickly from place to place owing to their small body size.

How much does a tusked frog weigh?

There is not much data available on the exact weight of the tusked frog.

What are the male and female names of the species?

No specific name is given to the male and female tusked frog.

What would you call a baby tusked frog?

A baby tusked frog is called a tadpole after it hatches out of the eggs.

What do they eat?

These frogs prey on a variety of invertebrates found in their forest habitat or in the ponds. The males mostly feed on snails owing to their close proximity to water, whereas the forest-dwelling female species prey on small insects that are mainly found in their habitat.

Are they poisonous?

These Australian frog species secrete a slimy mucous from their skin, that may be poisonous. The males are territorial in nature and are also known to engage themselves with other frogs with the help of their teeth. They can bite and cause scars on the skin if provoked or threatened. Other than that, these animals are harmless to humans.

Would they make a good pet?

These frog species are wild and thrive well in their natural habitat. Furthermore, they are a vulnerable species, and their distribution range in Australia. It is unethical to keep them as pets because they are listed as an endangered species by the Threatened Species Conservation Act.

Did you know...

Tusked frogs stay underground and enter the stage of summer sleep called aestivation in order to survive in dry seasons. Again the frogs become active during the wet spring months at the time of their breeding. This particular characteristic is due to the fact that frogs undergo three modes of respiration- pulmonary, cutaneous, and buccopharyngeal respiration. Among these three types of respiration, the largest volume of oxygen taken by them is through cutaneous respiration, that is through their skin. As a result, it is necessary for them to keep their skin moist all the time. When they are unable to get sufficient water, they stay within burrows that are dug in the coast in a dormant state.

How did tusked frogs get their name?

The tusked frogs of Australia get their name from the two unusually large teeth that are found on their lower jaw.

What is the difference between a tusked frog and a tree frog?

The main difference is that a tree fog is arboreal in nature and therefore, spends the majority of its life in the trees. They have sticky pads on their feet that help them to climb trees. The medium-sized tusked frogs are known to inhabit water-logged places or on the coast, and their distribution is limited to Australia.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other amphibians from our red-eyed tree frog facts and pacman frog facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable tree frog coloring pages.

Main image by Will Brown.