Grouped together with other burrowing frogs, it survives the dry periods by absorbing water into
its body, burrowing deep underground, and encasing itself in a watertight bag
(cocoon), awaiting the next major rain fall.
At the onset of aestivation, these frogs assume a
'water-conserving' posture and become inactive. A thin, transparent cocoon
is observed to form within a week of onset of inactivity, and becomes
progressively thicker and more opaque. The cocoon covers the entire body
surface, including mouth, eyes and cloaca, except for the narial openings.1
The frog is named after Professor Bert Main of the University of Western
Australia, a pioneer of southern Western Australia frogs.2
Description
Its skin may vary from pale
grey-brown, olive-brown, dull green on its back, with darker patches. The back
is smooth or slightly rough or warty in appearance. Look for the distinct pale
stripe that runs along the spine. There is often a dark lateral head stripe.
The
male frogs breeding call sounds like the bleating of sheep.
The tadpoles of the Mains Frog are fairly large, varying in colour from
orange-gold, copper pink over a grey base, dense grey-gold or dull gold with
dark speckling.3
Some environmental situations, such as the tadpoles living in a small
amounts of water, which would naturally heat to higher temperatures, is known to
trigger the tadpoles to develop at a faster rate, developing into adults frogs
within 14 days.
It could have been just the wrong pool of water, overcrowding, insufficient food
or the strength of the midday sun that saw the demise of these tadpoles.
This seemingly hurried lifecycle from egg to tadpole to adult frogs
is a common feature of frogs from the arid and desert region, as water when it
does fall is usually only around for a brief period. Nowhere is it more evident
then seeing a former pool of water, drying out, still filled with tadpoles that did not
grow quick enough to complete their lifecycle.
Feeds:
The frog feeds mainly on insects, particularly termites, which a single frog may
eat at the rate of several hundred per meal.4
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