Turtle Frog - Myobatrachus gouldi

The incredible Turtle Frog (Myobatrachus gouldi). The Turtle Frog is a fossorial (burrowing) species, and probably the most fossorial of all Australian frogs. They even call and mate underground, where the eggs are laid in the moist sand and develop directly into frogs.

This and the numbat were my favourite finds of the Western Australia trip.

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Comments

Stewart Macdonald says:

Wow! How did you find him?

Stewart
PS: Grotesque? That's a bit harsh!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

robstephaustralia says:

Where did you find him?
He ( or she) is Cool! gr3at shot!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

robstephaustralia says:

what is the term for skipping the tadpole stage?
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Evan Pickett says:

They are very hard to track down, because they call underground and the triangulation process doesn't work too well. So it took a while. I went out the next night, and none were calling. So I was pretty lucky.

Rob/Steph, it's called direct development.

Grotesque fits them for some reason. I think they're awesome, but that word seems right. Maybe if Jabba the Hutt didn't look so much like him, he'd be a bit more appealing.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

tapperboy says:

Speechless! Amazing animal!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

wildphotos4u says:

Whoa, he's amazing. He's got the gentle face and eyes of a turtle. Thanks for the information. I never knew they even existed.
Fan..tas..tic !
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

venwu225 says:

AWESOME capture.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

BernardoSegura says:

awesome, congratulations, great shot and the frog is probably the stranger i ever see
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

ibsut says:

No more grotesque than a Sumo wrestler.
Can only find two others on Flickr
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Luis Eduardo _ says:

Nice shot! good view.. love it
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

perfectday_s says:

What a strange specimen! Excellent close-up. Thank you for sharing on FLICKR!
Seen on EXPLORE July 18, 2008 - CONGRATULATIONS!

This beautiful image is sooo good it deserves to be faved twice and posted in the Rare Gems (double-faved) Group pool.

award
Rare Gems (double-faved Invite only)
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

iwasfixin2 says:

stunning and amazing find! congrats, evan. really wonderful photo and glad you shared it.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

~gio~ says:

Whoaa.... incubus

--
Seen in the interestingness archives. (?)
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

- Burning Rubber - says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Our Planet - Comment some others plz..., and we'd love to have this added to the group!

Your image is a wonderful example
for the beauty of Our Planet!

You are invited to join Our Planet
Please tag your picture with "OurPlanet" and don't forget
to comment some others.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

digi bandit says:

are you sure it is a frog
and not a turtle who slid out of his shell like on the cartoons

--
[discovered in the photophlow main room] (?)
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

jasperroz says:

Great photo. Amazing creature.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

yeoldeblackhippie has given way to thehappybuddha says:

looks like something from another planet
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Daniel Cormier says:

Whoa. I've definitely never seen one of those before. Interesting.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

jan~n says:

There is something almost human-like about the eye because of the surrounding folds and the skin colour.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

GonçaloSilvestre says:

This is crazy,ive never seen something like this before,incredible capture and thanks for sharing!!Congrats
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

hellgah! says:

i never heard of these!

seen in explore
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Ha-r-bin says:

Wow, amazing, never seen anything like this!!!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

zosterops says:

Gosh, this photo was an eye opener. Great photo, amazing frog! and really interesting information. Thanks.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

RyanHarvey1993 [deleted] says:

wow that is the most ugly frog ive ever seen, nice find, isnt something you would see everyday. nice pics aswell
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

` ®© ROBERTO CARBONI says:

What a beautiful photo,congrats
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

artour_a says:

you saved my day ! ;o)
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Celanth says:

Sweet!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Snelvis says:

Incredible - I have never seen one of these before in my life (not even a photo). This has got to be one of the strangest animals I have ever seen. Beautifully captured as well.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Bobby Talks says:

this is crazy!haha i just never seen an animal like this.awesome.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Sakoyama says:

This is an authentical WTF!!! It's horrible, poor.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Casius Clak says:

I would love to see this species. Perhaps one day when I get into it's distribution range.
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Uwe Auer says:

Wow... Great find... How big is it in life?
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Evan Pickett says:

About 4cm long.

Evan
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

mantidboy says:

Great photo!
I never knew such a frog existed before this photo!
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Austin T. says:

Great shot! We would love for you to join!

www.flickr.com/groups/macro-natureonly/
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

MissA_sketches says:

Wow! What a find it is!.....and a wonderful shot too!
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

eyelyft says:

stellar find, very interesting species!
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Robyn Ann says:

Wonderful. I have read about burrowing frogs, but did not realise how inflated they would look.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Marten Fisher says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Field Guide To Snakes, Lizards, Frogs, Crocodilians, Salamander, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

svillavi says:

its, more or less cute...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

HQdgn says:

It´s absolutely cute! Love his eyes.
Great photo!!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

hopefoote says:

That's the ugliest frog I've ever seen. Amazing but ugly.

--
[discovered in the Post 1 leave 3 passive aggressive comments, notes, or tags photophlow room] (?)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

kimg25 says:

Great photo. Thanks for sharing.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

blackberrydowns says:

wow, nice! I have never even seen or heard of one before!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

urbanmenagerie says:

OMG that is one scare looking frog:)
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

BlueisCoool says:

Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

suppafly says:

You should add this to the Wikipedia article, which is sadly lacking in information.
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

Matthew Ignoffo says:

This is awesome, I definitely agree with flickr on this one. I imagine this is a very rarely seen species?
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

kin_onn says:

What a bizarre looking creature! Great find!
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

aaardvaark says:

A stunning find. What do they eat?, they look as though they never even make it to maccas. Too much time at the keyboard!
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

Evan Pickett says:

They eat termites and ants. Not sure how they hunt, but I imagine if they find a good spot, they mightn't have to move for a while.

Evan
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

tOkKa says:

-->>
Thanks for the heads up,
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

lcriding says:

What an amazing photo!
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

Tauriello_orchidee says:

Wow!
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

sgbaughn says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called LMN8R - Theme of "The Living Face", and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 6 weeks ago. ( permalink )

eMinte says:

WTF? damn very interesting
Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )

gom6699 says:

this is so cool, it's the first time I see or hear of this animal
Posted 2 weeks ago. ( permalink )

J. Coelho says:

Omfg! Amazing species!
Posted 3 hours ago. ( permalink )

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Taken with a Canon PowerShot G7.
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Taken on July 11, 2008

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Turtle Frog - Myobatrachus gouldi

Comments

Stewart Macdonald says:

robstephaustralia says:

robstephaustralia says:

Evan Pickett says:

tapperboy says:

wildphotos4u says:

venwu225 says:

BernardoSegura says:

ibsut says:

Luis Eduardo _ says:

perfectday_s says:

iwasfixin2 says:

~gio~ says:

- Burning Rubber - says:

digi bandit says:

jasperroz says:

yeoldeblackhippie has given way to thehappybuddha says:

Daniel Cormier says:

jan~n says:

GonçaloSilvestre says:

hellgah! says:

Ha-r-bin says:

zosterops says:

RyanHarvey1993 [deleted] says:

` ®© ROBERTO CARBONI says:

artour_a says:

Celanth says:

Snelvis says:

Bobby Talks says:

Sakoyama says:

Casius Clak says:

Uwe Auer says:

Evan Pickett says:

mantidboy says:

Austin T. says:

MissA_sketches says:

eyelyft says:

Robyn Ann says:

Marten Fisher says:

svillavi says:

HQdgn says:

hopefoote says:

kimg25 says:

blackberrydowns says:

urbanmenagerie says:

BlueisCoool says:

suppafly says:

Matthew Ignoffo says:

kin_onn says:

aaardvaark says:

Evan Pickett says:

tOkKa says:

lcriding says:

Tauriello_orchidee says:

sgbaughn says:

eMinte says:

gom6699 says:

J. Coelho says:

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