Meet the Australian green tree frog
The green tree frog is one of Australia's most familiar frogs. It often moves into human spaces, sitting on windows to catch insects drawn to lights and turning up in water tanks, letterboxes, sinks and toilets.
It was described in 1790 by John White, surgeon on the First Fleet, as Rana caerulea. The name caerulea means 'blue' because the specimens sent to England were damaged by preservative, which destroyed the yellow pigment in the skin and left them looking blue.
Males call with a deep, slow 'crawk-crawk' that often starts up after rain. Females lay eggs in floating clusters in temporary ponds and flooded ditches during spring and summer, and the tadpoles take at least a month to turn into froglets.
Its skin secretions contain peptides called caeruleins that have attracted medical research interest. It is long-lived for a frog, averaging around 16 years in captivity.
Where it lives
Found across northern and eastern Australia, including northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory, most of Queensland and New South Wales, and north-eastern South Australia; it also occurs in New Guinea. It lives in forests, woodlands and towns, often around houses, water tanks and downpipes.