Litoria caerulea
White’s Tree Frog
Class: Amphibia. Order: Anura. Family: Hylidae.
Other names: Dumpy Tree Frog, Smiling Frog, Australian
Green Tree Frog
Physical Description: Adult: 3" to 5", females usually larger
than males. White's tree frogs are bright green in color or a
mixture of green and bronze, often with scattered white
spots on the sides. This docile frog has the ability to change colors from dark brown to light green, and
rarely may even be a light blue. If stressed, it may appear gray. The skin of a White's tree frog has a waxy
cuticle that helps prevent water evaporation allowing the frog to survive in arid conditions. The frog's skin
has many perforations of skin glands that also keep it moist. Their skin often appears to be folded from
their tendency to be obese. The fingers are about one-third webbed, and the toes nearly three-quarters
webbed. They have large adhesive discs on the tips of the fingers and toes that allow them to climb trees
and walls. The tympanum (a skin membrane similar to an eardrum to absorb vibrations) is visible. Frogs
also hear with their lungs. When sound waves hit the lungs, they're funneled directly to the tympanum
through an air link. The difference in pressure between sound waves coming in from the external
environment and those being funneled through the lungs allows the frog to locate sound. This helps female
frogs locate mates during the breeding season.
Diet in the Wild: largely insectivorous; eat moths, locusts, roaches and other insects, spiders, snails, worms,
smaller frogs and sometimes even small mammals, such as mice. To capture smaller prey they will extend
their sticky tongue, but if prey is larger they will pounce on it and force it into their mouth with their hands.
Diet at the Zoo: Crickets
Habitat & Range: Native to Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea. It lives in rainforests, coastal areas, and
even arid regions. May also be found in drier areas near cisterns, man-made water reservoirs, and other
areas in which water may collect. They also can be found in gardens and frequently around human
habitation in water tanks, troughs, windmills, down-pipes and even toilet bowls. These frogs like to nest in
tree hollows during the day.
Life Span: Up to 15-20 years
Perils in the wild: The main predators of White's Tree Frogs are snakes, lizards, dogs, cats and birds.
Physical Adaptations:
 They have large adhesive pads on their fingers and toes. This makes them excellent climbers. They
have very good balancing skills and are able to sit on different surfaces including wet vertical ones.
White's tree frogs are also strong jumpers.
Behavioral Adaptations:
 Mainly Nocturnal
 Solitary
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
During the dry season the frogs become dormant after surrounding themselves in a cocoon of skin
and mucus.
Reproduction and Development:
Breeding takes place in the summer rainy season. It often occurs in very moist places. The female expels
her eggs with such a force that they go through the deposited sperm cloud and stop up to half a meter
away. The female's clutch of eggs can contain from 150 to 300 eggs. Once fertilized, they sink to the bottom
of whatever water system they are in. The eggs range in size from 1.1mm to 1.4mm in diameter. During the
mating season, males grow a dark “nuptial” pad on the inside of the thumb to help in gripping the females
during amplexus, which can last for days while the female lays her eggs. The eggs take about one to three
days to hatch, and metamorphosis can occur in two to three weeks under good conditions. Young frogs
mature in about two years.
Additional Information:
 Scientists have discovered that skin secretions from this animal can destroy the staph bacterium
that is responsible for the cold sore abscesses involved in Herpes Simplex infections. The same
secretions have been also known to lower the blood pressure in humans
 Males have a loud rasping call. This is often magnified by the echo chamber effect that occurs when
the call is made from the hollow limbs of trees.
 They are nicknamed "happies" in Australia due to their appearance of smiling.
 Recent research has found tiny hexagonal patterns on the frogs’ feet that channel mucus between
them, which acts both to adhere the frog to the surface and then, as the foot is lifted, to carry away
any dirt - the feet are entirely self-cleaning. If this could be translated to a man-made material, it
could be used in adhesive products such as medical bandages to prevent contamination from
occurring.
 The air link between the lungs and the tympanum may also protect the frog's ears from its own
calls, which can be nearly as loud as a jackhammer in some species (90 to 95 decibels). Specifically,
the air link helps to equalize the pressure on the inside and outside fo the ear drum so that it
doesn't rupture.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Conservation Efforts:
Sources:
 Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens
 http://www.backwaterreptiles.com/images/frogs/blue-whites-tree-frog-for-sale.jpg
 http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/species/whites.html
 http://animal.discovery.com/guides/reptiles/frogs/whitestreefrog.html
 http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Litoria_caerulea/#behavior
 http://www.theanimalfiles.com/amphibians/frogs/whites_tree_frog.html
 http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/zoo/Meet-Our-Animals/Amphibians/Frogs-and-Toads/White-sTree-Frog.htm
 http://animal.discovery.com/tv/vanishing-frogs/anatomy/frog-ears.html
 http://zoo-logic.tumblr.com/post/7244204267/the-sticky-feet-of-the-whites-tree-frog-litoria
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