Southern Corroboree Frog Travel Tag

To travel from place to place and inform people of my Critically Endangered frogy friends. 

Maybe one day I might visit the Kosciuszko National Park to see all the other frogs.

Because of its bright yellow and black stripes, the Critically Endangered Southern Corroboree Frog, Pseudophryne corroboree, is one of Australia’s best known frog species. Annual surveys of all known sites for the Southern Corroboree Frog suggest that this species is perilously close to extinction in the wild. In January 2014 only six males were found and no eggs were found in their nests. This shows that the rapid decline towards extinction in the wild, that began when amphibian chytrid fungus first arrived in Kosciuszko National Park, is continuing for this frog.

Corroboree Frogs are Australia’s most iconic amphibian species, and are amongst the most visually spectacular frogs in the world. There are two closely related species of Corroboree Frog. Both Corroboree Frog species are between 2.5 and 3 centimetres in length.

Corroboree Frogs have a limited geographic distribution. The historic known range of the Southern Corroboree Frog is entirely within Kosciuszko National Park, from Smiggin Holes in the south, and northwards to the Maragle Range. Southern Corroboree Frogs only occur between about 1300 and 1760 m above sea level.

Corroboree frogs are the first vertebrates discovered that are able to produce their own poisonous alkaloids, as opposed to obtaining it via diet as many other frogs do. The alkaloid is secreted from the skin as a defence against predation, and potentially against skin infections by microbes. It has been described as potentially lethal to mammals if ingested.