The Striped Rocket Frog

Striped Rocket Frog :: WLR:- Litoria nasuta, commonly known as the Striped Rocket Frog or in its native range as the Rocket Frog, occurs mostly in coastal areas from northern Western Australia to around Gosford in New South Wales at its southern most point, with a disjunct population occurring further south at the Sydney suburb of Avalon. It also inhabits the southern lowlands and south east peninsula of Papua New Guinea.

This species of frog is very variable in colour and patterning. It reaches 55 mm in length, has extremely long legs and is very streamlined. Its dorsal surface is shades of brown with longitudinal skin folds or warts that are darker in colour than the skin around them. The ventral surface is white and granular. A brown stripe starts from the nostril, goes through the eye, through the tympanum and ends between the armpit and groin. The tympanum is brown with a white circle surrounding it. The thighs are marked with black lines on a yellow background. Throats of breeding males are yellow. Although being a 'tree frog' this species spends most of its life as a frog on the land, due to its inability to climb because of its small discs.

This frog inhabits swamps, ponds and flooded grasslands in forests and open woodland. The call is a 'wick wick' repeated several times followed by a 'but... but' the call may last for several seconds. Males call from spring through to early autumn while sitting around the bank of a water body or in shallow water. Breeding increases after rain.