Wildlifeof New Zealand
Green and Golden Bell Frog
Introduced Frogs
Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ · CC0
Ranoidea aurea
Basic stats
Habitat
Northern ponds, streams, swamps and vegetated ditches
Range
North Island
Size
Males up to 60 mm; females at least 90 mm; weight up to 50 g
The green and golden bell frog is a large Australian frog deliberately introduced to New Zealand in the 1860s. Smooth bright green upperparts carry metallic bronze or gold markings; unlike the southern bell frog, the back is not warty.
It occurs mainly from Whanganui and Gisborne north to the Aupōuri Peninsula, with isolated populations around Wellington and in Southland. It is active around water by night and often by day, basking among reeds and moving between ponds; the call is a deep descending croak.
Vegetated ponds and wetland edges in the northern North Island offer the best chance in warm weather.
Quick answers
- What habitat does the Green and Golden Bell Frog live in?
- Northern ponds, streams, swamps and vegetated ditches
- Where is the Green and Golden Bell Frog found?
- North Island
- How big is the Green and Golden Bell Frog?
- Males up to 60 mm; females at least 90 mm; weight up to 50 g