A Cape York Blog

Cape York paradise at Portland Roads

Frogs of Cape York

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Dainty Green Tree Frogs

I was woken at 4am by the noise of hundreds of Dainty Green Tree Frogs (Litoria gracilenta). The noise was enough to wake and the bedroom was over 100 metres from where the frogs were. They are beautiful little frogs (also known as Graceful Tree Frog) only about 40mm – 45mm long. I could only see a couple while I was taking the video.

We’ve had them in the shack  before but only one at a time.

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Fly/drive/stay deal – the wet season is the best time for wildlife

You can Fly into Cape York and spend some time exploring. There is heaps to see in just one area. Explore the Iron Range National Park, Chili Beach and Lockhart River area from Portland Roads.

To encourage people to visit Portland Roads Beach Shack during the wet season, we have negotiated deals with Skytrans and Lockhart River Car Hire so that our customers can get discounts when booking through us.

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White Lipped Tree Frog – Largest tree frog

White Lipped Tree Frog

White Lipped Tree Frog in our yard

We spotted this huge green treefrog yesterday, here at the Portland Roads Beach Shack. He was perched in a tree just near the path to our house. He sat perfectly still while we photographed him. Notice that he has ear patches rather than holes. That is Seamus’ arm behind him holding down the tree branch so that we could get a better angle. It gives you an idea of how big the frog is.

According to wettropics.gov.au
The White Lipped Tree Frog is the worlds largest tree frog growing in length to 14cm. With a green body with white stripe on lower jaw, and a long flattened body and it has PROTECTED status.

Wikipedia adds that:

  • Females are larger than males;
  • The colour changes depending on the temperature and background – they are usually bright green but can be brown;
  • It has a loud, barking call but when distressed it makes a cat-like “mew” sound;
  • It’s diet is mainly insects and other arthropods;
  • It can live to over ten years in the wild;
  • It is distributed in Australia along the coastal areas of Cape York Peninsula and the wet tropics of north-eastern Queensland. It is the most widely distributed tree frog in the New Guinea region, spanning from eastern Indonesia, through the New Guinea mainland, to the Bismarck and the Admiralty Islands in the North.

Much of the wildlife of the Cape is not found anywhere else in Australia but is found in New Guinea.

White Lipped Tree Frog - Back

White Lipped Tree Frog – Back view shows the texture of its skin