Giant Burrowing Frog
Heleioporus australiacus australiacus
Australia's Threatened Species Category
Endangered
Listed since: 5/03/2025
IUCN's Threatened Species Category
Endangered
Listed since: 17/11/2021
Population trend: Decreasing
Other names: Eastern Owl Frog
Priority Species? No
The Australian government's Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032 selected over 100 priority species derive from consultation with threatened species experts and the wider community. While all species are important, focusing on a limited number of species can help target effort and resources so that outcomes can be achieved, measured and shared.
Description
The Giant Burrowing Frog is a large, rotund, slow-moving frog. It is a powerfully built species with muscular hind limbs and enlarged areas on the feet for burrowing. The giant burrowing frog occurs in areas of native vegetation and can be found in heath, woodland and open dry sclerophyll forest on a variety of soils, except claybased soils however, the species has not been recorded from cleared land.
Threats
The main threats to the Giant Burrowing Frog include habitat loss through clearing for agricultural and urban development, hydrological changes, logging and disease (chytrid fungus).
Quollity Conservation Hub's Vulnerability Score:
59
To help compare the relative vulnerability of different species, we have developed a scoring system based on biological and ecological characteristics that influence a species' ability to survive and recover from environmental change and natural disasters.
The framework is adapted from assessment methods used by conservation experts following the Black Summer bushfires to help identify species most in need of conservation action, research, and recovery funding.
Each species is assessed using a range of factors, including its conservation status, lifespan, reproductive rate, habitat and dietary requirements, ability to disperse or recover after fire, and the number and severity of threats it faces.
In general, the higher a species' score, the greater its overall vulnerability and risk of decline or extinction.
Like all conservation assessments, this scoring system is limited by the information currently available. Many threatened species remain poorly studied and receive limited research funding, meaning some assessments rely on the best available scientific knowledge or information from closely related species. As new research becomes available, scores may be updated to reflect our improved understanding.
Average life span:
Number of young produced each year:
Number of breeding events each year:
Minmum sexual maturity age:
> 5yrs and < 10yrs
501 - 1000
Unknown
2 - 3yrs
DCCEEW - Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
SPRAT - DCCEEW Species Profile and Threats Database