The Ornate Burrowing Frog
 When there's been heavy rain and the cane fields become flooded, this is the time to find two of the ground-dwelling frogs: the Ornate Burrowing frog and the Marbled frog. The Ornate Burrowing frog (Platyplectrum ornatum) is pale tan with darker spotting and often has a distinctive yellow stripe running down the centre of the back. It is about 40mm (under 2 inches) long, is a darker base colour with very dark spots and a pale grey, granite-like pattern on its sides. When the Marbled frog (Limnodynastes convexiusculus) is stressed, it flushes to almost black in colour. Both of these frogs with their stocky bodies and short legs can be seen sitting or floating in the water. The calls of both these frogs are quite soft and consist of a single, short note. The Ornate Burrowing frog call sounds like a tennis ball being hit. The Marbled frog sounds like a child saying the word, "unk!".
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One of the world's favourite frogs is the Common Green Tree frog (Litoria caerulea) which is called White's Tree frog in the USA. Even as an adult of 90mm (3 ½ inches) in size, the Green Tree frog always retains its gentle baby face. It is probably the most commonly kept frog in Australia and has been kept for decades overseas. It is often found around houses, especially in outdoor loos (bathrooms) and in gutter pipes. 
When driving along northern roads at night, there are two spectacular jumpers that are frequently seen in your headlights. Both of these frogs can clear the width of a lane in each jump. Both are nearly the same size - more than 60 mm (2 ½ inches) for females and roughly 40 mm (under 2 inches) for males (about the size of a matchbox). The brown striped one with the very pointed snout is called the Striped Rocket frog. The other one is the Stony Creek frog which is chocolate brown with a pointed snout and a very dark stripe through the eye that reaches just past the arm.
Another of the impressive rainforest frogs is a ground dweller which burrows under the soil. In tropical Queensland, this species complex has recently been split into three separate species: the Northern Barred frog (Mixophyes schevilli), the Mottled Barred frog (Mixophyes coggeri) and the Carbine Barred frog (Mixophyes carbinensis). These are heavy set brown frogs with darker brown blotches on their back and face which helps it blend in with the leaf litter it hides in. Unlike most frogs, the pupil is hardly visible in the Barred frog so the eye appears entirely dark. However, the juveniles have a crimson upper iris. The legs are heavily striped with dark bars, hence its common name, and the call is a deep, guttural "wonk". The Barred frogs occurs from the coastal lowlands at sea level all the way up to the mountaintops and, aside from their impressive bulk and excellent jumping ability, they also have the distinction of producing Australia's largest and longest lived tadpoles. The high altitude species, Mixophyes carbinensis produce tadpoles which are 150mm (6 inches) long and which require two years to metamorph! 
There are some frogs that prefer a drier habitat. Visitors to the Townsville area or the western reaches of the Atherton Tablelands might notice a very round frog with short feet that emerges from the ground only after heavy rains. This frog is called the Superb Collared frog (Cyclorana brevipes) and it has a yellow-beige background colour with broken brown stripes or blotches down its back. Water-holding frogs survive the dry months by encasing themselves in a 'plastic bag' made from their skin. They 'hibernate' in this bag until the heavy rains return. Once water reaches their bag (sending the signal that conditions above are good for breeding), they climb back to the surface, swallow the bag and breed quickly before the waters dry up again.