Frogs of the ACT: A complete list

15 December 2025 | 238 views | Frogs

After digging through available records this article should shed light on what we know for sure, and what are likely misidentifications, translocations, taxonomic changes or just maybe, genuinely rare. It's the rare ones that are interesting. We should go take a closer look at those, right?

Species native to the ACT

The following species are clearly native to the ACT (based on Rauhala 1997 but confirmed and updated by many other sources). There is some taxonomic work underway that may result in revisions:

Species Common name Conservation status Comments
Myobatrachidae Southern ground frogs    
Crinia signifera Common eastern froglet

Not listed

 

  
Crinia parasignifera Eastern sign-bearing froglet Not listed  
Limnodynastes dumerilii dumerilii Eastern banjo frog Not listed  
Limnodynastes peronii Brown-striped frog Not listed  
Limnodynastes tasmaniensis Spotted grass frog Not listed  
Neobatrachus sudellae Spotted burrowing frog Not listed  
Psuedophryne bibronii Brown toadlet Not listed  
Psuedophryne dendyi Southern toadlet Not listed  
Psuedophryne pengilleyi Northern corroboreee frog

Critically endangered (ACT, EPBC)

 A national recovery plan is available.
Uperoleia laevigata Smooth toadlet Not listed  
Hylidae Tree frogs    
Litoria aurea Green and golden bell frog

Vulnerable (EPBC)

Locally extinct in ACT.

See Osborne et al. (1996) re. the disappearance of L. aurea, L. castanea and L. raniformis. Populations rapidly declined from 1978-81, and had disappeared from known sites by 1985. Subsequent surveys out to 1990 failed to find any.
Litoria castanea Yellow-spotted tree frog

Critically endangered (ACT)

Endangered (EPBC)

 Locally extinct in ACT. A national recovery plan is available.
Litoria latopalmata Broad-palmed frog Not listed  
Litoria lesueuri Lesuer's frog Not listed  
Litoria nudidigitus Narow-fringed tree frog Not listed

Referred to as the "Cotter River Form" in ACT (2010). Ongoing taxonomic investigation into this and related species.

Likely the "Cotter River frog Litoria species affin. phyllochroa" mentioned by Rauhala (1997).
Litoria raniformis Southern bell frog

Vulnerable (EPBC)

 Locally extinct in ACT. A national recovery plan is available.
Litoria peronii Peron's tree frog Not listed  
Litoria verreauxii subsp. alpina and verreauxii

Alpine tree frog

Whistling tree frog

Subsp. alpina: Vulnerable (ACT, EPBC)

Subsp. verreauxii: Not listed

 ACT has records of both the alpine (subsp. alpina) and whistling (subsp. verreauxii) tree frog subspecies. The alpine subspecies is rare, found at elevations > 1,000 m and appears to have suffered signficant decline. There is some genetic evidence that these two forms represent a genetic 'gradient', especially where they abut or overlap, rather than a hard transition.

Species that may (?) have been introduced to the ACT

There is one species that is probably introduced, it may have established breeding populations but this has not been conslusively demonstrated:

Species Common name Conservation status Comments
Litoria fallax Eastern dwarf tree frog

Not listed

 

This is a well-known vagrant species, occasionally translocated in fruit boxes (ALA), and there are some suggestions that this species has been introduced and established breeding populations in the ACT.

There are 16 records listed in the ALA database, all of which are in or adjacent to suburban environments, consistent with translocation. The records are based on call recordings rather than observation. There are are several clusters of sightings, including some from the Jerrabombera wetlands. So it is possible that breeding populations exist. Worth following up!

Vagrants and oddities

These are the interesting ones. In preparing this section, Atlas of Living Australia records were examined to check outliers and oddities recorded from the ACT. Most are likely translocations or errors, but there are a couple of records that are plausible and worth following up to confirm.

Now an important disclaimer: ALA records are of varying quality, not all are complete or entirely accurate, but they flag issues with the data so you can see potential problems and limitations. Records also come with different levels of precision in terms of location and so on. For the species below, all records were examined. Records that provide neither locality nor date have been disregarded.

Species Common name Conservation status Comments
Litoria booroolongensis
 Booroolong frog

Endangered (EPBC, NSW)

Plausible but likely historical presence: One specimen collected from Swamp Creek at Uriarra crossing in 1977 (ALA), which is on the margin of the natural distribution. Given their apparent susceptibility to chytrid fungus, intervening time, and the upstream development that has taken place, they most likely disappeared long ago. A national recovery plan is available.

Still, worth following up with an audio survey, given it's endangered status. Swamp Creek is a small nature reserve, if the Booroolong frog is still hanging in there, it would be good to know about it.
Litoria caerulea Green tree frog

Not listed

 Known vagrant that gets translocated in boxes of fruit and vegetables, these can stick to anything. Not native, no evidence of breeding population. All records are from suburbia.
Litoria citropa Blue mountains tree frog

Not listed

Probably a misidentification, but not enough information to go on (one record in ALA from 1979). There's a preserved specimen in the Australian Museum Herpetology Collection, so...maybe someone could go check it out? 
Litoria dentata Bleating tree frog

Not listed

Probable vagrant, with the couple of NatureMapr photographic records from the ACT noting 'in a pot plant' or 'on a vehicle trailer'.

Natural range is generally thought to be northern NSW area but ALA shows hundreds of sightings down eastern NSW as far as the Victorial border, so distribution might be wider. Presence in ACT is just on the edge of plausible.

Confounding the issue, L. dentata is is similar in appearance to several other species (FrogID) whose combined distributions easily explain observed sightings on ALA, including L. verreauxii which is native to ACT. High potential for misidentification.
Limnodynastes dorsalis Western banjo frog

Not listed

 Certainly an error. Completely inconsistent with known range (southwestern WA). There is a single ALA record from 2013 which notes the identification predates collection of the specimen, with possible incorrect field mapping.  
Litoria ewingii Ewing's tree frog

Not listed

Plausibly present, as distribution and ALA records are numerous and continguous to the east and west of ACT. Probably also enters as a vagrant in pot plants etc.
Litoria phyllochroa Leaf green tree frog

Not listed

Almost certainly misidentification of L. nudidigitus. There are 17 records from two collection sites. These records are not dated, but:

  • The two collection sites are in the headwaters of the Cotter River, which is the habitat of L. nudidigitus.
  • This is most likely the "Cotter River frog Litoria species affin. phyllochroa" mentioned by Rauhala (1997). They are similar in appearance.
Litoria quiritatus Screaming tree frog

Not listed

Uncertain but probably native. The natural range abuts the eastern ACT. There is photo evidence of sightings in the ACT (NatureMapr), but these are urban and cannot discount the possibility that they entered as vagrants. Worth following up.
Neobatrachus pictus Burrowing frog

Endangered (NSW)

One preserved specimen collected from Mt. Stromlo in 1952 (ALA). Speculation: Misidentification with N. sudellae?
Pseudophryne corroboree
 Southern corroboree frog

Critically endangered (NSW, EPBC)

Likely a misidentification of P. pengilleyi due to taxonomic change: P. corroboree was described in 1953, while P. pengilleyi was described in 1985. 

  • ALA has multiple records from two localities in the Brindabella range near the western border. These are consistent with the natural range of P. pengilleyi (and not P. corroboree). 
  • Most of the Brindabella collection records date between 1964 to 1982, before P. pengilleyi was known to be a separate species. However, most of the the northernmost site records have 'date identified' set as 1999 with a couple from 1982. The more southern site does not have date identified set, but 'event date' (collection?) specified as 1992.

The northernmost records were recorded by Stebbins and Pengilley. Speculation: In 1966 these records had to be identified as P. corroboree as P. pengilleyi was not yet described.

It may be that when the data was later converted into electronic form (1999?) and then imported into ALA (established 2010), nobody thought to update the taxonomy, especially since these records came from an authoritative source.   

A third locality with a single record north of Queanbeyan in NE ACT is completely inconsistent with both the natural distribution and altitudinal limits of P. corroboree and has been designated as an outlier by ALA.

Notes

Threatened species listings are included under both ACT (Nature Conservation Act 2014) and Commonwealth legislation (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) The ACT does not designate species as threatened where they are believed to be extinct, which is why L. aurea, and L. raniformis are not listed. NSW lists threatened species under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. Conservation status for other states has not been included in the table.

There are four subspecies of Eastern banjo frog and another that has now been designated as a full species (L. dumerilii grayi has been promoted to L. superciliaris). The subspecies present in the ACT is Limodynastes dumerilii dumerilii.

References

 

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