A small species of frog reaching up to 3 cm in body length. It has a highly distinct bright yellow and black striped back, a pattern that extends over the limbs. The belly is black with white or yellow marbling. The pupil and iris are black. Fingers and toes are unwebbed, both without discs.
Eggs are laid as one small cluster on land in Sphagnum moss burrows. The nest is guarded by the male, as it is with other Pseudophryne species. Tadpoles can reach a total length of up to 3 cm and are black in colour, with tiny silver spots. They grow to an advanced stage inside the egg, and are released into water bodies after the nest is flooded by rain or snow melt in autumn or winter, taking around nine months to develop into frogs once released. Breeds only during summer in order to avoid the extreme climatic conditions of the Snowy Mountains.
Looks very similar to Pseudophryne pengilleyi, but has a slightly different distribution and brighter yellow stripes.
Photo: Jodi Rowley
By: Michael McFadden
Formerly found throughout Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains of NSW, but has declined severely due to the amphibian chytrid fungus and is now only known from one small population in a remote area of the park. There is a captive breeding program currently in place to help prevent their extinction.