like "tok-tok", males call from the nest site and can be difficult to find. Breeding takes place in spring and summer and eggs are laid as a foamy mass in the nest, hidden from sunlight. The eggs are white in colour and lack pigment. In the breeding season (October - December), males build nests out of foam hidden from direct sunlight in ponds and swamps. Over 600 eggs may be laid in each floating mass of foam, and are guarded by the male until they hatch into tadpoles. The tadpoles grow over a period of two to three months to around 3 to 3.5 cm, when they undergo metamorphosis into 'mini adult' froglets. Conservation status and threats The IUCN has listed the tusked frog in the near threatened category of the Red List of Threatened Species, and notes that it is probably in significant decline due to chytridiomycosis. The Southern Tablelands population has been listed as an endangered population under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, following the disappearance of the species from the rest of its former Tablelands range. Urban and agricultural development are thought to be the primary threats to this species, causing the degradation and loss of its habitat. Introduced species are causing further decline, such as the predatory eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), and weed species which outcompete the tusked frog's natural vegetation. Gallery References Anstis, M. (2002): Tadpoles of South-eastern Australia. Reed New Holland, Sydney. Katsirakos & Shine (1997): Sexual dimorphism in the tusked frog, Adelotus brevis (Anura: Myobatrachidae): the roles of natural and sexual selection. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 60 (1): 39–51. HTML abstract Robinson, M. (2002): A Field Guide to Frogs of Australia. Australian Museum/Reed New Holland, Sydney. External links Frog Australia Network: Tusked frog call. Limnodynastidae Amphibians of Queensland Amphibians of New South Wales Amphibians described in 1863 Taxa named by Albert Günther EDGE species Frogs of Australia