New Zealand Introduced Animals > Green Bell Frog

Green Bell Frog

Litoria aurea

INTRODUCED; COMMON; RESIDENT

DISTRIBUTION: Native to South East Australia, this immigrant occupies most of the North and South Islands, and is the most common frog in New Zealand.

HABITAT: Betraying their tree frog heritage, the green bell frog lives in marshes. Most active at night they spend most of the day hidden under vegetation on swampy ground or among marsh plants.

BREEDING: Surprisingly little is known about the reproduction of this particular species, although the tadpoles are unusually large suggesting that development into a mature frog may take more than a year.

FOOD: The tadpoles are vegetarian and the adults feed largely on insects. Their size does however enable them to tackle the occasional small fish or skink.

GENERAL: The green bell frog is one of two bell frogs found in New Zealand, the other being the southern bell frog Litoria raniformis. Both grow up to 10cm in length. Although having an aquatic lifestyle their front feet, like a human hand, have strong opposable thumbs, more suited to the tree dwelling lifestyle of their nearest relatives. Like all frog species they have little resistance to pollution and disease, so are a good indicator to the state of the environment. Worldwide, frog numbers are decreasing, and the cause at this stage is unknown


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