Bibron's toadlet

[2] Bibron's toadlet settles in a wide variety of habitats within these region but they mainly reside in dry forests, woodland, shrubland, grassland, coastal swamps, heathland, and sub-alpine areas.

The cause of female longevity is unknown but it is speculated that it is due to decreased predation risk and increased lifetime expectancy.

[7] While the mechanism of this acquisition is unknown, consumption of certain alkaloids in their diet allows the toadlet to produce PTXs that deter predators like snakes.

[6] Bones of the Bibron's toadlet have been found in the gut content of two striped grass frogs in the Wallingat State Forest in New South Wales, Australia.

This can be anything from coastal swamps, creeks, temporary ponds/roadside ditches in forest, cleared land, heathland and even sub-alpine areas.

[citation needed] The males attract the females by making a grating "cre-eek" noise from a concealed area, in mud, under rocks, or within damp leaf litter.

If no sufficient rain happens soon after laying the eggs can remain unhatched for many weeks, with the tadpoles developing inside.

Female frogs that mate with more males, thus depositing eggs in more nest sites, are more likely to have some young survive.

The first one is the "advertisement call" which is marked by a short two part sequence that sounds at a higher relative frequency.

Thus, each of these calls has a specific effect on female choice and male competition that determines the overall mating success of each individual.

It has been thought that better calling patterns are an indication of the quality of the nest site which may be why they are so important in mating success.

[13] To mitigate these costs, this species utilizes chemosignals to attract females and repel males from their territory.

The anatomy of this species includes pronounced dorsal, axillary, and femoral glands that have been shown to produce a pungent mucus that activates during the breeding season.

[13] The eggs of P. bibronii are heavily regulated by the water content and partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere.

P. bibronii eggs have a lower tolerance range compared to other flexible shelled reptiles that are also sensitive to water conditions.

[15] Thus, P. bibronii males make nesting sites in areas that are moist and are likely to flood to initiate hatching.

[14] If partial pressure of oxygen never decreases due to delayed flooding, development of the egg stalls.

The drought has caused once lush paddocks to turn to barren fields, creating fewer places for the P. bibronii to burrow.

[8] Tracking these frogs is also very difficult as they are very secretive and cryptic, thus it is hard to get an accurate population count of the species.

The impact of these fires is thought to have affected the mortality rates of adult frogs, amount of territory for breeding, and overall habitat loss.

Image of Bibron's toadlet with coloration and markings
Image of the Bibron's Toadlet in leaf litter