George writes from Australia with wishes to all for a Happy New Year! He has been extraordinarily busy with fieldwork since the start of the Australian spring, and the last few months have seen him up in Cape York training some of the traditional owners in fauna survey techniques. He’s also been monitoring a population of endangered Giant Barred Frogs, Mixophyes iterates, and working as a research assistant once more at the University of Sydney in a herpetology lab. Just about every night for the last few months George has spent frogging, and when he hasn’t been officially working, he’s been frogging and spotlighting in his free time anyway!
![Mixophyes iteratus amplexus[8]](https://frogblogmanchester.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/mixophyes-iteratus-amplexus8.jpg?w=270&h=180)
Giant Barred Frogs, Mixophyes iterates, (c) G. Madani
The male can be so stubborn that he will risk exposure rather then to let go of his prize and George sometimes comes across males exposed on the surface whilst still attached to the female who remains hidden and buried below the leaf litter. Interestingly, once the pair has spawned, the females use the extensive webbing on their back feet to flick up the fertilised eggs onto the creek bank to develop amongst the damp soil and leaf litter in a clever anti-predator strategy. Once the tadpoles have hatched they then slip off the bank and into the water with a head start to life! Amazing!
![Assa darlingtoni - Marsupial Frog[9]](https://frogblogmanchester.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/assa-darlingtoni-marsupial-frog9.jpg?w=300&h=217)
Hip-pocket Frog, Assa darlingtoni, (c) George Madani
The opaque white tadpoles develop inside over the course of about 50 days or so before metamorphosing and braving their new world of rainforest leaf litter! At about 20mm long these enigmatic little frogs can take some finding, with this miniscule individual taking over an hour to locate!
![Pseudophryne coriacea[9]](https://frogblogmanchester.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/pseudophryne-coriacea9.jpg?w=300&h=177)
Red-backed Toadlet, Pseudophryne coriacea (c) G. Madani
George Madani (Simpson/Tasmania) Kimberly update Borneo Update
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