Image courtesy of Jodi Rowley
Eastern Banjo FrogLimnodynastes dumerilii
Eastern Banjo frogs are a medium frog species, growing to about 70mm in length. Also known as a pobblebonk, it can easily be identified by a distinct 'bonk' call and dark brown back, white belly and yellow to gold flanks. The iris in the eye is also gold flecked.
These larger frogs feed on crickets, insects and spiders, they don't particularly feed on flying insects as they lack the capabilities to jump high into the air. Its calls can be enjoyed from August to April, however it is most likely heard from September to December when it is peak breeding season. Males will generally call out from within their burrows or from floating in the middle of the water.
Ponds are incredibly important to this species, as this is where they lay their eggs. The females are the caregivers to their eggs, carrying oxygen with special skin flaps on her fingers to the nest to keep the eggs oxygenated and healthy. The female can lay between 500 to several thousand little eggs, which are kept safe within the pond's plant life.
The natural habitat of Banjo frogs are waterways and dams. However this species is also found throughout gardens of Victoria and into New South Wales and Tasmania, and chances are it has visited or currently lives in your own backyard. They are a burrowing species, and some have even been found in kids' sand pits.
The good news for Banjo frogs is that they are considered as ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation) list as of 2004.
Spread of the Eastern Banjo frog across Australia
Cutajar. T. P., Portway, C. D., Gillard, G. L., and Rowley, J. J. L. (2022) Australian Frog Atlas: Fine-scale species distribution maps informed by the FrogID dataset. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum Online. 36: 1-48. https://doi.org/10.3853/j.1835-4211.36.2022.1789
How can I encourage frogs to my backyard?
To improve your chances of frogs living and breeding in your backyard, choose appropriate pond fish that will not eat tadpoles or eggs. Fish such as goldfish and other large species will eat frog eggs and tadpoles, so please do your research on which fish species are safe for cohabitating with frogs. Visit our Pond Fish profiles on our Learning Hub for more information about frog and tadpole friendly species.
Improve your chances of attracting and keeping happy frogs in your garden by having plenty of vegetation in and around the pond. Dense vegetation in the pond will give tadpoles protection from predators, and appropriate marginal vegetation will provide adult frogs with ideal habitat. Logs, hollows and caves will also encourage frogs to move in. Visit our Aquatic plant profiles on our Learning Hub to help decide which plants are best for your pond.
Do not spray weeds with harmful weed killers, this will end up in your pond and in local waterways, which will discourage frogs from living in your area. The health of your drains is the health of your waterways. Remove weeds regularly by hand to retain the health of your pond.
Already have frogs in your area?
Please help the Australian Museum by downloading their FrogID app, where you can record frog calls and submit these and your location through the app! You can download this from the Apple Store or the Google Play Store.
Image of Eastern Banjo frog courtesy of Jodi Rowley.
Map of Australia image showing Eastern Banjo frog location used with permission of Museums Australia.
References:
Frog ID, Limnodynastes dumerilii, 2022, accessed Jul 04 2022, https://www.frogid.net.au/frogs/limnodynastes-dumerilii
Backyard Buddies, Eastern Banjo Frogs accessed Jul 04 2022, https://backyardbuddies.org.au/backyard-buddies/eastern-banjo-frogs/
