Fauna Spotters logo

Pugh's Mountain Frog (Philoria pughi)

Pugh's Mountain Frog is a small, stream-associated frog restricted to high-elevation habitats in far north-east New South Wales. It uses boggy headwaters, soaks, moss and moist soil for shelter and breeding, so clearing, earthworks, altered drainage, sediment and disease controls need to protect both stream margins and adjacent forest floor habitat.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Breeding season

Pugh's Mountain Frog has a documented breeding and calling period from at least October to December. Eggs and developing young remain in moist, water-filled ground nests, so avoid clearing, trampling, draining or dewatering suitable headwater habitat during this period and confirm local conditions before works.

Reproductive mode: Egg laying. Females deposit jelly-encapsulated eggs in a foam mass in a water-filled ground chamber, and the young complete development in the nest.

Clutch size: About 40 to 42 eggs per nest, based on five recorded nests, with a mean of 40.5 eggs at one site and 42 eggs at another.

Incubation or gestation: Not recorded. The embryos complete development and metamorphosis within the nest.

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded for this species.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Water-filled chambers in saturated ground, including creek beds, boggy headwaters, soaks and seepages. Nests may occur under leaf litter, rocks or vegetation and can be aggregated on the forest floor.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded. One breeding period from at least October to December is documented.

Confirm timing locally before works, because rainfall and temperature can affect calling, nesting and emergence in these high-elevation headwater habitats.

  • Calling: Males were recorded calling from October to December, including in small congresses of up to six individuals. No peak month was reported.
  • Egg laying: Eggs were recorded from October to December. Females lay jelly-encapsulated eggs in a foam mass in water-filled ground chambers, including saturated creek beds and boggy headwaters.
  • Tadpoles: Use the label Eggs in nest for this direct-developing frog. Eggs and larvae remain in the nest and do not enter open water; the documented nesting period is at least October to December.
  • Metamorphs: The species-specific emergence month is not recorded. Genus-level information indicates development to the completed frog takes around two months, so emergence may extend from late in the October to December breeding period into January, but this timing is not confirmed for Pugh's Mountain Frog.
  • Active period: No species-specific activity season is recorded. General practice for this moist, upland frog is to treat suitable moss, leaf litter, stream banks, soaks and seepages as occupied in every month, with breeding and calling activity documented from October to December.
  • Winter inactivity: Winter inactivity, hibernation and brumation are not recorded for this species. Do not assume that frogs are absent in winter, because adults use moist soil, mossy cavities, leaf litter and stream-bank cover; the all-month marking is a precautionary general practice, not a documented seasonal pattern.
  • Highest clearing risk: October to December is the highest documented risk period because calling males, eggs and developing larvae may be present in saturated ground nests, and nests can be aggregated or exposed to trampling. Clearing, compaction, drainage and dewatering can harm sheltering adults in any month.

Identification

Pugh's Mountain Frog is a small, pear-shaped Philoria with distinctive colour variation and facial markings. Field identification should be confirmed by an experienced amphibian ecologist because it occurs within a group of closely related mountain frogs.

The body is robust and pear-shaped, reaching approximately 30 mm in total length. The upper surface may be yellow, red or maroon, and may occasionally be light tan or bronze. The flanks usually have a conspicuous black patch. A facial stripe runs from the snout, through the eye, to the base of the forelimb. The belly is mostly yellow, with red patches on the abdomen.

Identification: Similar species and field confirmation

Pugh's Mountain Frog was separated from other members of the north-east New South Wales Philoria complex using mitochondrial DNA sequence and allozyme variation. The related species identified in the listing include Mountain Frog, Loveridge's Frog and Sphagnum Frog.

The supplied documents do not provide a field key based on call, body measurements, sex, weight or colour differences between these species. Treat visual identification as provisional where more than one Philoria species may occur, and retain suitable photographs, location data and expert confirmation for project records.

Identification: Field signs

Individuals burrow into loose, moist soil or moss and sit in mossy cavities on stream banks. These cavities, moss shelters and small burrows are the main field signs described for the species.

Males call during the breeding season, but the supplied documents do not provide a call description. The documents also do not report diagnostic tracks, scats, sloughs or eyeshine. Searches should therefore focus on suitable stream-bank moss, moist soil and breeding chambers rather than relying on indirect signs.

Distribution: State and bioregional range

The documented range is confined to far north-east New South Wales. Confirmed records are from a relatively narrow band along the eastern escarpment of the Great Dividing Range.

Pugh's Mountain Frog is recorded in New South Wales, on the top of the eastern escarpment of the Great Dividing Range. The supplied documents do not assign the records to a formal Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia bioregion.

No records outside New South Wales are identified in the supplied documents.

State: New South Wales

Geographic setting: Eastern escarpment of the Great Dividing Range in far north-east New South Wales

Elevation: Above approximately 550 m

Distribution: Known localities and populations

Confirmed records are limited to voucher specimens from Gibraltar Range State Forest, Gibraltar Range National Park, Washpool National Park, Forest Land State Forest and Girard State Forest. These localities extend from approximately 45 km east-north-east of Glenn Innes northwards to approximately 70 km west of Casino.

The supplied documents do not provide a population estimate, density, number of subpopulations, home range or quantified population trend. The listing states that clearing and fragmentation have isolated local populations where suitable habitat remains.

Habitat: Habitat types

Pugh's Mountain Frog is a habitat specialist of cool, wet headwater environments. Protection must extend beyond the wetted channel to include boggy ground, moss and moist forest-floor habitat beside the stream.

The species is associated with mountain streams, boggy headwaters and soaks in antarctic beech forest, rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest. It occurs at elevations above approximately 550 m.

The documents do not provide a more detailed vegetation classification, canopy height, minimum patch size or stream width.

Stream setting: Mountain streams, boggy headwaters and soaks

Vegetation communities: Antarctic beech forest, rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest

Minimum elevation reported: Approximately 550 m

Habitat: Structural features

Important habitat features include loose, moist soil, moss on the forest floor, mossy cavities on stream banks and ground conditions that allow males to construct water-filled breeding chambers.

Hydrological conditions and water quality are important because the species depends on moist environments and breeds in chambers containing water. Maintain natural drainage, bank stability, seepage and clean water during clearing and construction.

Foraging habitat: Known information

The supplied documents do not describe the diet, prey, feeding technique or foraging range of Pugh's Mountain Frog. Field management should therefore retain the moist forest-floor and stream-bank conditions used by this ground-dwelling frog and its invertebrate prey.

No specific food plants, prey taxa, feeding periods or foraging distances are given in the supplied documents. There is also no documented home range or foraging range for the species.

Individuals are described as occupying moist soil, moss and stream-bank cavities. Avoid removing these microhabitats when clearing access tracks, work areas or services near headwater streams.

Foraging habitat: Project controls

Keep clearing footprints out of boggy headwaters, soaks, moss beds and moist stream banks wherever practicable.

Prevent sediment, pollutants and altered runoff from entering headwater habitat, because the species is associated with mountain streams and depends on moist conditions.

Breeding habitat: Breeding requirements

Breeding occurs in ground-level chambers beside suitable headwater habitat. The entire tadpole stage is completed within the nest, so damage to the chamber and surrounding moist ground can affect both eggs and developing young.

Males construct water-filled breeding chambers in the ground. Females deposit jelly-encapsulated eggs in a foam mass within the chamber. Unlike frogs with free-swimming tadpoles, Pugh's Mountain Frog tadpoles complete their entire development inside these nests.

Breeding chambers are associated with moist forest-floor habitat near mountain streams, boggy headwaters and soaks. Breeding chambers may be aggregated on the forest floor, which also increases the risk of disease transmission between individuals.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding season: At least October to December

Egg deposition: Jelly-encapsulated eggs are deposited in a foam mass in a water-filled ground chamber

Tadpole development: Tadpoles complete their entire development within the nest

Clutch size: Not reported in the supplied documents

Incubation or development duration: Not reported in the supplied documents

Age at maturity: Not reported in the supplied documents

Lifespan: Not reported in the supplied documents

Breeding habitat: Construction and clearing focus

Before ground disturbance, inspect moist mossy ground, stream banks, boggy headwaters and soaks for breeding chambers and shelter cavities. Avoid clearing or compacting these areas, particularly from October to December.

Where works cannot avoid suitable habitat, use a species-specific survey and relocation or salvage approach approved by the relevant regulator and led by suitably qualified amphibian personnel. The supplied documents do not specify a standard relocation method.

Sheltering habitat: Refuges and cover

Sheltering habitat is close to the ground and closely tied to moisture. The species does not use tree hollows or elevated roosts according to the supplied documents.

Individuals burrow into loose, moist soil or sit in mossy cavities on stream banks. Suitable cover includes intact moss, moist soil, stable stream banks and wet forest-floor conditions.

Males also construct water-filled breeding chambers in the ground. The documents do not provide chamber dimensions, burrow dimensions, refuge density or the distance frogs move from streams.

Known refuge types: Loose, moist soil and mossy cavities on stream banks

Known breeding refuge: Water-filled chamber constructed in the ground

Refuge dimensions: Not reported

Sheltering habitat: Site protection

Retain stream-bank moss, moist soil, leaf litter and stable banks within and beside the work area. Do not stockpile soil, place machinery or establish access routes on these features.

Maintain shade, moisture and natural drainage around headwater streams and soaks. Avoid unnecessary handling of frogs, moss and soil that could spread amphibian chytrid fungus.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

Pugh's Mountain Frog is threatened by the loss and degradation of specialised headwater habitat. Risks on development sites include direct clearing, fragmentation, altered drainage, poor water quality, fire impacts and pathogen spread.

Clearing and habitat fragmentation have restricted the potential range and isolated local populations where suitable habitat remains. Direct removal of rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest, antarctic beech forest, moss, boggy ground or stream banks can remove shelter and breeding habitat.

Plan the smallest practicable disturbance footprint and retain connected headwater habitat around known or potential sites.

Threats: Hydrology, water quality and trampling

Disturbance to hydrological regimes and water quality can degrade habitat. Altered drainage, dewatering, sediment discharge, contaminated runoff and bank instability may remove the wet conditions needed for shelter and breeding.

Trampling by domestic stock is identified as a threat. Keep stock, vehicles and construction activity away from wet ground, moss beds, breeding chambers and stream banks.

Threats: Fire and climate

Anthropogenic climate change is expected to affect the extent of habitat preferred by Philoria species, including habitat within reserves. The supplied post-fire assessment identifies Pugh's Frog as an endangered Philoria species affected by the 2019 to 2020 fires, but the supplied extract does not provide species-specific fire response results for Pugh's Mountain Frog.

Avoid unnecessary removal of moist ground cover and incorporate post-fire habitat checks where works occur in or near burnt headwater habitat.

Threats: Disease

Pugh's Mountain Frog is susceptible to the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The disease is water-borne and can be fatal to adult frogs. Moist conditions may allow the fungus to survive and grow, and aggregated breeding chambers may increase transmission between individuals.

Use amphibian hygiene procedures between sites and between streams. Keep equipment, footwear, hands and handling gear clean and appropriately disinfected under the project's approved hygiene protocol.

Survey methodology: 1. Breeding habitat assessment

Pugh's Mountain Frog is a small, stream-associated frog that uses boggy headwaters, soaks and moist mossy banks. Survey effort should focus on suitable headwater habitat and the breeding period, with weather and calling conditions recorded at every visit.

Map mountain streams, boggy headwaters, soaks, mossy stream banks and wet forest above approximately 550 m before selecting survey sites.

Inspect loose moist soil, moss and stream-bank cavities for breeding chambers, but do not excavate or disturb them.

  • Record stream condition, flow, water quality risks, surrounding vegetation and any evidence of trampling, clearing or fragmentation.
  • Treat all suitable moist headwater habitat as potential habitat until targeted surveys and habitat assessment are complete.

Survey methodology: 2. Calling surveys

Survey during the breeding period, with documented breeding occurring from at least October to December. The northern Philoria post-fire survey was undertaken between September and February, which provides a suitable seasonal window for project surveys.

Calling activity can be minimal at night for the northern Philoria species assessed in the post-fire study, so include daylight call surveys rather than relying only on nocturnal spotlighting.

Reported survey window: September to February

Minimum transect search time: 15 minutes

Call elicitation interval: 10 m

Reported repeat effort: Up to 5 surveys per site, mean 3

  • Walk a defined stream or headwater transect quietly for at least 15 minutes.
  • At 10 m intervals, imitate calls or broadcast male advertisement calls with a hand-held speaker, then record the number and position of calling males.
  • Repeat surveys where practicable, using up to five visits per site as the reported study effort, with three visits as the mean effort in that study.
  • Record the survey date, start and finish times, air temperature, water temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover and precipitation.

Survey methodology: 3. Visual and habitat searches

Search slowly along stream banks, mossy cavities, wet ground and areas of loose moist soil during daylight habitat inspections.

Use visual searches to complement call surveys because frogs may be concealed in moss, soil or breeding chambers.

  • Do not turn over or remove moss, soil or bank material unless this is authorised under the project fauna management plan and carried out by an appropriately authorised person.
  • Record frog observations, calls, egg masses or breeding chambers with location, habitat description and photographs where this can be done without disturbance.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use a qualified ecologist to confirm the survey design where works affect potential headwater habitat or where detection conditions are poor.
  • Survey all suitable habitat within and immediately adjoining the disturbance footprint, including upstream and downstream sections that may be affected by sediment, altered drainage or access.
  • Repeat surveys when temperature, rainfall or other recorded conditions are unsuitable for calling or when the first visit does not resolve whether suitable habitat is occupied.
  • Keep spatial data for every transect, search area, call station, observation and negative result.
  • Submit verified records to the relevant state wildlife database and provide records and survey reports to the project regulator or approval authority.
  • Check current Commonwealth and state listing, survey and reporting requirements before fieldwork because the supplied sources do not provide a current Commonwealth survey guideline for Pugh's Mountain Frog.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Plan works around the frog's restricted headwater habitat and its dependence on moist conditions. The species is recorded from far north-east New South Wales, and its known habitat includes wet forests and mountain streams above approximately 550 m.

Retain boggy headwaters, soaks, mountain streams, wet stream banks, mossy cavities and surrounding moist forest.

Avoid clearing, drainage changes, sediment discharge and activities that alter stream hydrology or water quality.

Prevent stock, plant and machinery access to moist banks and breeding areas where trampling could damage habitat or breeding chambers.

Maintain connected moist habitat between retained stream sections and known or potential occupied sites.

  • Use the smallest practicable disturbance footprint and keep temporary access routes out of headwaters and stream-side wet areas.
  • Design crossings, drainage and erosion controls so that natural flow, moisture and water quality are maintained.
  • Treat isolated patches as important because clearing and habitat fragmentation can isolate local populations.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and planning

Confirm the current Commonwealth listing and whether the proposed action requires an EPBC Act referral or approval before works begin.

Obtain any required state threatened species, wildlife handling, scientific or relocation authorisations, and confirm the requirements with the relevant state agency.

Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies the species, habitat, survey results, exclusion areas, stop-work triggers, authorised handlers and reporting pathway.

  • Nominate an ecologist and authorised fauna spotter catcher before the work package is released to construction.
  • Schedule clearing and ground disturbance outside the main breeding period where practicable, with the timing justified in the fauna management plan.
  • Stage works so that retained headwater habitat is protected before machinery enters the site.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

Complete the pre-clearance survey using targeted headwater and calling methods before finalising the disturbance boundary.

Mark stream buffers, boggy areas, soaks, mossy banks, breeding chambers and retained vegetation on plans and in the field.

Install exclusion fencing or other controls where they can keep machinery, workers and stock away from retained wet habitat without diverting water into it.

  • Brief all workers on the frog's appearance, habitat, no-go areas, hygiene requirements and the stop-work process.
  • Clean and disinfect footwear, vehicles and equipment before entering retained frog habitat and between sites where practicable, to reduce the spread of amphibian chytrid fungus.
  • Confirm that sediment, dewatering, dust and water-quality controls are installed before ground disturbance starts.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls

Work slowly and keep machinery away from retained headwater habitat. The fauna spotter catcher must have authority to pause work whenever a frog, breeding chamber or unplanned impact to suitable habitat is identified.

Inspect exclusion fencing, stream buffers, erosion controls and access routes before work starts each day.

Keep machinery, spoil, fuels and concrete washout away from streams, soaks, mossy banks and other retained wet habitat.

Maintain clean equipment and footwear controls because Pugh's Mountain Frog is susceptible to the water-borne chytrid fungus.

  • Use a fauna spotter catcher during clearing and any activity that can disturb moist ground, stream banks or wet forest habitat.
  • Set a slow operating speed and a clear communication system between the spotter catcher, machine operator and supervisor.
  • Stop work if controls fail, water quality deteriorates, sediment enters habitat, or machinery approaches a marked exclusion area.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna handling and habitat features

The spotter catcher should search moist ground, moss, loose soil, stream banks and cavities before and during disturbance, without unnecessarily turning over or excavating habitat.

Do not handle frogs, eggs or breeding chambers unless the person is authorised under the applicable state requirements and the fauna management plan.

If a frog is found, stop nearby work, keep people and machinery clear, and allow the authorised handler to assess the animal and the habitat.

  • Relocate an animal only when authorised and only to nearby retained habitat that matches its moist, stream-associated requirements.
  • Do not move animals across roads, into dry areas or into habitat with different drainage or water conditions.
  • Treat breeding chambers, egg masses and occupied mossy cavities as stop-work features until the ecologist decides how they will be protected.

During habitat disturbance: Injury, stop-work and records

Take an injured frog to an approved wildlife carer or veterinarian through the project fauna response procedure, and record the event immediately.

Stop work and notify the project ecologist if the species is found outside the approved impact area, if an occupied breeding feature is exposed, or if an unapproved impact occurs.

The project manager should notify the relevant regulator and approval authority when required by the approval, permit or fauna management plan.

  • Record every sighting, handling event, relocation, injury, death, breeding feature, stop-work event and release location.
  • Record the date, time, coordinates, habitat, work activity, people involved, animal condition and photographs where this can be done without further disturbance.
  • Report suspected chytrid infection or unusual mortality through the relevant state wildlife and biosecurity pathways.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-work checks must confirm that retained headwater habitat remains moist, connected and free from construction impacts. Monitoring should be scaled to the disturbance risk and any approval conditions.

Inspect the full work area and adjoining retained stream habitat after clearing for stranded or injured frogs, damaged mossy banks, exposed breeding chambers, sediment, altered flow and drying of habitat.

Complete a final fauna sweep before demobilising the spotter catcher, with particular attention to moist soil, moss, stream banks and soaks.

Repair exclusion fencing, erosion controls and drainage controls before the site is left unattended.

  • Remove temporary materials, spoil and waste from headwater habitat.
  • Restore any accidentally disturbed stream-bank or wet-ground areas as soon as practicable using the rehabilitation plan.
  • Do not remove retained logs, rocks, moss or bank material unless the approved works require it and the ecologist has assessed the risk.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Use repeat daylight call surveys and habitat inspections to check whether frogs continue to use retained habitat after works.

Apply the same transect locations, call elicitation approach and weather records where possible so that results can be compared between visits.

  • Monitor during the September to February survey window, including the October to December breeding period, where the risk assessment or approval requires post-work monitoring.
  • Report survey effort, detections, non-detections, habitat condition, water-quality incidents, fauna handling and corrective actions.
  • Submit verified records to the relevant state wildlife database and meet all Commonwealth, state and approval reporting requirements.

After habitat disturbance: Controls and offsets

Maintain stream buffers, exclusion fencing, erosion controls, hygiene controls and access restrictions for as long as the fauna management plan requires.

If residual impacts cannot be avoided, implement any approved offset, conservation measure or habitat protection measure required under the Commonwealth or state approval.

  • Review the controls after heavy rain, flooding, fire or any change to drainage or water quality.
  • Keep a current map of retained habitat, rehabilitation areas, monitoring sites and any relocated animals.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should recreate moist, connected headwater habitat rather than only replacing vegetation. It must protect stream function, mossy banks and the damp ground used for shelter and breeding.

Reinstate natural drainage and shallow flow paths so that headwaters, soaks and stream banks remain moist without creating erosion or stagnant pools.

Replant cleared areas with locally appropriate native wet-forest species that match the pre-disturbance antarctic beech, rainforest or wet sclerophyll forest community.

Stabilise and revegetate stream banks with local native groundcover, shrubs and trees, while retaining natural moss development.

  • Use local provenance plants where available and do not introduce non-local frogs, soil or aquatic material.
  • Replace disturbed loose moist soil and retain natural leaf litter and moss where this can be done without spreading disease.
  • Remove weeds and prevent them from shading out or drying the moist ground habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Protect breeding and refuge features

Retain and reinstate mossy cavities, loose moist bank material and undisturbed damp ground suitable for the species' terrestrial breeding chambers.

Do not install nest boxes as a substitute for this species' known breeding habitat, because the supplied sources describe ground breeding chambers rather than tree hollows or boxes.

Keep livestock, vehicles and machinery out of rehabilitated stream banks to prevent trampling.

  • Use sediment controls until vegetation is established and water runs clear through the site.
  • Inspect restored banks after rainfall for slumping, scour, drying or blocked flow.
  • Do not place logs, rocks or other material in a stream unless the ecologist confirms that the placement will improve habitat without obstructing flow or harming breeding sites.

Rehabilitation actions: Fire, disease and success measures

Manage fire risk so that retained and rehabilitated moist headwater forest is not exposed to avoidable high-severity fire, while following the responsible land manager's fire requirements.

Maintain hygiene controls during rehabilitation works to reduce the risk of spreading chytrid fungus between frog sites.

Use repeated habitat inspections and call surveys to assess whether the site remains suitable and whether Pugh's Mountain Frog is detected after rehabilitation.

  • Set success measures for stable stream flow, retained moist soil and moss, functioning erosion controls, native plant establishment, weed control and continued connectivity to retained habitat.
  • Record frog detections, calling males, breeding chambers and any disease or mortality observations during monitoring.
  • Continue maintenance and corrective works until the agreed habitat and monitoring outcomes are met.

Sources