Adelotus brevis
Silhouette: Dmitry Bogdanov (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The tusked frog (Adelotus brevis) is a species of ground-dwelling frog native to eastern Australia from Eungella National Park, Queensland south to Ourimbah, New South Wales. It is the only species in the genus Adelotus - adelotus meaning "unseen" and brevis meaning "short".
The tusked frog is a unique frog within Australia, as it is the only species where the female is smaller than male. Males can reach a maximum length of about 5 centimetres (2.0 in), while females reach 4 centimetres (1.6 in). The common name of "tusked frog" derives from the small protrusions on the lower jaw, similar in position to tusks, which can reach about 5 millimetres (0.20 in) in length in males (only visible when the mouth is open).
The pair of bony tusks are modified teeth that protrude from the middle of the lower jaw and fit into special grooves on the upper jaw when the mouth is closed. They are slightly curved and sharply pointed, and are present in both males and females, although they are larger in males.
Males have been observed 'locking jaws' with each other, in a similar way to male deer locking antlers in the struggle to exert dominance over each other. Male tusked frogs have... Wikipedia →
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Australia · 2025
© Liam Hall · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Australia · 2025
© pietervandam1 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Australia · 2022
© Luke R. Hardy · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tusked Frog sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 153 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 9 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and September–October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Tusked Frog in Brisbane on a given day, against about 10% in April–August and November–January, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tusked Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Brisbane, in our data
Brisbane is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Tusked Frog sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Limnodynastidae
The closest relatives of the Tusked Frog that you can see in Brisbane (family Limnodynastidae, Foam-nesting Ground Frogs) are Striped Marsh Frog (about 20%) and Ornate Burrowing Frog (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tusked Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Brisbane (153 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
