FrogID goes swimmingly with record numbers reported Coffs Coast Coffs Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - December 10, 2021 Sawtell’s Mary Help of Christians School pond – Ella Petrohelos observes the froggie residents. THANKS to citizen scientists around the country, the fourth annual FrogID Week was a massive success. Now a leading citizen science project run by the Australian Museum, this year’s FrogID Week, which ran from 12-21 November, received over 20,200 submissions – almost double 2020’s FrogID Week submissions. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au Over 9,300 people submitted a recording and over 29,400 records of frogs from 103 species have been verified so far. Sawtell schoolgirl Ella Petrohelos is fascinated by nature, with a great interest in the Coffs Coast’s frog health, as previously reported in News Of The Area. Ella tells News Of The Area, “On the first day of Frog ID week, I went outside to put my chooks away for the night when I noticed something green on my trampoline. “It looked like a big green leaf. “As I got closer, I noticed it was a green tree frog. “It looked very healthy and happy. “Over the week I saw the same frog again in our yard after a rainy day. “I recorded my sightings on the Australian Museum FrogID app and got a reply the next day confirming the breed and a record of the location where the frog was found. “At school – Mary Help of Christians in Sawtell – we have a frog pond, and it is full of tadpoles at the moment. “Recently the students have noticed two green frogs living near the school office. “It has been great to see the signs of healthy frogs back around our local area,” said Ella. The country’s FrogID Week recordings have helped reach the milestone of over half a million frog records validated; in four years doubling the number of frog records previously in Australia, that were collected over more than 200 years. In FrogID Week the Museum increased its database to 208 species, thanks to a recording of the Sunset Frog (Spicospina flammocaerulea), a vulnerable frog species, by Dr Robert Davis in WA. Two new species of frog have been described as new to science this past week, the Slender Bleating Tree frog (Litoria balatus) and the Screaming Tree Frog (Litoria quiritatus). By Andrea FERRARI Frog of the Month – Screaming Tree Frog (Litoria quiritatus). Photo: Jodi Rowley. Dr Jodi Rowley and a frog specimen at the Australian Museum. Photo: Salty Dingo. Striped Burrowing Frog. Frog on a trampoline – Ella Petrohelos found this playful frog in her back garden. Students found this frog at Mary Help of Christians Primary School in Sawtell, during FrogID week.
