Limnodynastes dumerilii
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Limnodynastes dumerilii is a frog species from the family Limnodynastidae. The informal names for the species and its subspecies include eastern or southern banjo frog, and bull frog. The frog is also called the pobblebonk after its distinctive "bonk" call, which is likened to a banjo string being plucked. There are five subspecies of L. dumerilii, each with different skin coloration. The species is native to eastern Australia. There has been one occurrence in New Zealand, when tadpoles of the species were found in 1999 and destroyed.
Adults are roughly seven to eight centimetres (2.8 to 3.1 in) long with dark warty backs, a prominent tibial gland, fleshy metatarsal tubercules and a smooth white or mottled belly. The tadpole stage is relatively long, lasting up to fifteen months. The species is common.
The five subspecies of Limnodynastes dumerilii are: This is the most widespread of the five subspecies. It is found in South-East Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, the slopes and ranges of New South Wales, northern Victoria and the Murray River into South Australia. This subspecies... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoo & Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pobblebonk sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 350 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 9 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Pobblebonk in Melbourne on a given day, against under 5% in July, the lowest month.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pobblebonk sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Melbourne, in our data
Melbourne is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Pobblebonk sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Limnodynastes
The closest relatives of the Pobblebonk that you can see in Melbourne (genus Limnodynastes, Banjo and Marsh Frogs) are Striped Marsh Frog (about 20%) and Spotted Grass Frog (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pobblebonk is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Melbourne (350 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.
