Funky Frogs
What does your garden sound like? Mine is a chorus of different frog calls.
Being amphibians, frogs rely on both aquatic and terrestrial habitats, linking these two environments together. Their permeable skin makes them highly sensitive to changes in water quality, temperature, and pollution levels. Hence, if frog populations are thriving, it is a sign that the ecosystem is functioning well.
Hearing their calls every night makes my heart full of hope for our environment in a changing climate despite the terrible environmental news stories.
Family linkage
Motorbike Boy
Juvenile Quaking
Quaking Show-off
Angelic Ancient
Spot of Orange
Sunset
Thriving Tree Frog
Family Linkage
This piece started my exploration into the amphibian world. A naïve representation of their unique position linking the terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Acrylic painting
30 x 30
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Motorbike Boy
One of the loudest frogs in my garden. First, to migrate to the closer house pond as the summer approaches. The south-west's most commonly encountered frog. A large, powerfully built frog with relatively long hind limbs. The back colour is extremely variable, ranging from green with gold mottling (after basking in sunlight) to an almost uniform dark brown (colder conditions). The model for this picture was brown with green mottling pattern. Its call has a rising series of tones similar to a motorbike changing gears, hence the common name- Motorbike Frog,
Acrylic painting
600 x 500
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Quaking Show off
Quacking frogs may be found hibernating under rocks and logs during summer and autumn. Hiding males will respond to human 'quacks' by quacking back in the evening or even during the day. Its scientific name is Crinia georgiana, named after King George Sound near Albany, where this species was first discovered. Its colouring ranges from orange to brown to almost black on its back and may include brown marbling or brown stripes on either side of its back, which aid in camouflage. The belly of males is dirty-grey, while females have a bright white abdomen; both have a white spot at the base of each limb.
Acrylic painting
300 radius
$ 250
Juvenile Quaking
The quacking frog (Crinia georgiana) is also known as the red-thighed froglet due to its legs tending to be bright red. This little painting has the more common colouring combination. It imagines spotting this frog as it’s just woken up from its hibernation, catching the morning sun.
Acrylic painting
30 x 30
$ 180
Spot of Orange
This rare orange spot is rare to see. Listed as 'vulnerable' due to its restricted habitat and ongoing population declines. The Orange-bellied Frog (Geocrinia vittelina) is one of Western Australia's most vulnerable frog species and is threatened with extinction. A small, short-bodied frog with short muscular legs with its belly being bright orange or more of an egg yolk yellow.
Acrylic painting
255 x 205
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Angelic Ancient
The Slender Tree Frog (Litoria adelaidensis) is one of Australia's most distinctive tree frogs - it has no close relatives elsewhere in Australia. It is only found in the southwest of Western Australia. It is an ancient survivor of wetter, earlier times in the history of the south-western environment. Generally, it is a pretty common frog in the southwest region, and it is easy to distinguish a uniform colour ranging from pale fawn to bright green with a bold dark stripe on both sides of the head and body.
Acrylic painting
30 x 30
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Thriving Tree Frog
This tree frog is predominately ground-dwelling, though I found this one among the branches of a dense tree I was pruning. This green variation of the motorbike frog (Ranoidea moorei) is part of the subfamily Pelodryadinae and is found in Southwest Australia. It is also known as Moore's frog, Western bell frog, Western Green and Golden Bell frog, and the Western Green tree frog. The Noongar name for it is Kyooya. Though common names are easier to pronounce than the Latin or Noongar name for most people, it can get confusing.
Acrylic painting
400 x 600
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Sunset
The Sunset Frog (Spicospina flammocaerulea) is one of the oldest WA frogs, estimated to have diverged from its closest relatives 30 million years ago. It is pretty distinct from other Australian frogs. It is currently listed as vulnerable, restricted to a small area near Walpole and Nornalup in the south-west. This moderate-sized frog has highly distinctive raised bumps along the back that are dark purple-black. Its undersurface is brilliant orange with mottled grey-sky blue. The hands and feet are bright orange.
Acrylic painting
30 x 30
$ 180