Frogs in the Pond
by Kerri-Lee Harris
May, 2020
Last week we decided to rebuild our frog pond. It had been damaged by fire in early January and to repair it we needed to completely remove the sand, plants, rocks and water.
Under a rock, and well camouflaged against the silt, was this tiny frog. I recognised the species ... Pseudophryne dendyi, Dendy's Toadlet. The brilliant yellow patches were the main clue. And a gentle nudge exposed her brilliantly patterned belly.
Dendy's Toadlet, Pseudophryne dendyi, small and surprisingly cryptic.
The extended belly suggests this is a female. The blue blotches vary between individuals, often forming contiguous patches rather than spots like this.
I lifted her into a bucket for safe keeping, ready to return her to the pond once it was rebuilt. Then, back to work.
Moments later, as I was lifting handfuls of sand into another bucket, I discovered these pearl-like eggs. They were well above water level, nestled in the wet sand under the shade of a pond-side rock. Beautiful, delicate, and clearly alive! The tadpoles flipped about when I disturbed them.
So carefully setting them aside, I went back to moving sand ... only to discover two more nests, this time each with a frog presiding over the eggs.
Much is known about this species. It is closely related to the endangered Corroboree Frog. Both are terrestrial frogs and lay their eggs in moist soil. When the tadpoles reach the stage at which they're ready to hatch, they wait. Only when rain flushes the nest into the nearby creek or pond (!) will they hatch and continue to develop.
I collected more than 100 eggs and will soon release them back into the pond. The sand, rocks and plants are all back in place, and the water is no longer filled with ash. I hope some will survive and grow into adult frogs.
Read more about the life of this pond in Life in a Southern Forest*.